processed_career_life_2_para_df_m
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| Link | rowid ▼ | name | first_name | last_name | gender | career_sec | personal_sec | info | occupation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Grant Achatz | Grant | Achatz | M | In 2001, Achatz moved to the Chicago area to become the Executive Chef at Trio in Evanston, Illinois, which at the time of his arrival had a four-star rating from the Mobil Travel Guide. Over the next three years, with Achatz at the helm, Trio's reputation soared and in 2004 the restaurant was rewarded with a fifth star from Mobil, becoming one of just 13 restaurants so honored at the time. In 2005, Achatz went out on his own, opening Alinea in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood with Nick Kokonas. The restaurant is located up the block from the famed Steppenwolf Theatre Company and is housed in a modest gray brick building which bears no external markings beyond its street number. Inside, the restaurant has no bar, no lobby and seats just 64 guests. Achatz serves diners a small-course tasting menu, consisting of approximately 18 courses. After less than two years of operation, the Mobil Travel Guide bestowed its Five Star Award on Alinea, making Alinea one of just 16 restaurants nationwide to rate five stars for 2007. In October 2006, Gourmet magazine named Alinea the best restaurant in America in its feature on "America's Top 50 Restaurants". In 2007, Restaurant magazine added Alinea to its list of the 50 best restaurants in the world at number 36, the highest new entry of the year. In 2008, that publication moved Alinea up its list 15 spots, to number 21 in the world. In 2009 Alinea moved up to number 10 in the world and advanced to number 7 for 2010, when it was also the highest ranked North American restaurant honored. Alinea maintained its top North American Ranking for 2011, while moving up one position overall to 6th best restaurant in the world. In 2012, Alinea came down one spot on the list. Per Se gained the 6th place, thus making Alinea the 2nd best restaurant in the U.S. and 7th overall. In November 2009, Achatz and his Alinea team designed the menu for Ikarus, a restaurant in Salzburg, Austria which brings in a top chef from a different restaurant each month to design the menu for that month and tra… | On July 23, 2007, Achatz announced that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma of the mouth, which may have spread to his lymph nodes. Initially, Achatz was told that only radical surgery was indicated, which would remove part of his mandibular anatomy and large swaths of neck tissue. Later, University of Chicago physicians prescribed a course of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. This led to full remission, albeit with some side effects including a transitory loss of his sense of taste, which eventually returned. On December 18, 2007, Achatz announced that he was cancer-free. He credited an aggressive protocol of chemotherapy and radiation therapy administered at the University of Chicago Medical Center for driving his cancer into full remission. The treatment regimen, administered under the direction of Drs. Vokes, Blair and Haraf at U of C, did not require radical invasive surgery on Achatz' tongue. He has two sons, Kaden and Keller. The latter name was chosen partly in honor of Achatz's mentor Thomas Keller. | In 2001, Achatz moved to the Chicago area to become the Executive Chef at Trio in Evanston, Illinois, which at the time of his arrival had a four-star rating from the Mobil Travel Guide. Over the next three years, with Achatz at the helm, Trio's reputation soared and in 2004 the restaurant was rewarded with a fifth star from Mobil, becoming one of just 13 restaurants so honored at the time. In 2005, Achatz went out on his own, opening Alinea in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood with Nick Kokonas. The restaurant is located up the block from the famed Steppenwolf Theatre Company and is housed in a modest gray brick building which bears no external markings beyond its street number. Inside, the restaurant has no bar, no lobby and seats just 64 guests. Achatz serves diners a small-course tasting menu, consisting of approximately 18 courses. After less than two years of operation, the Mobil Travel Guide bestowed its Five Star Award on Alinea, making Alinea one of just 16 restaurants nationwide to rate five stars for 2007. In October 2006, Gourmet magazine named Alinea the best restaurant in America in its feature on "America's Top 50 Restaurants". In 2007, Restaurant magazine added Alinea to its list of the 50 best restaurants in the world at number 36, the highest new entry of the year. In 2008, that publication moved Alinea up its list 15 spots, to number 21 in the world. In 2009 Alinea moved up to number 10 in the world and advanced to number 7 for 2010, when it was also the highest ranked North American restaurant honored. Alinea maintained its top North American Ranking for 2011, while moving up one position overall to 6th best restaurant in the world. In 2012, Alinea came down one spot on the list. Per Se gained the 6th place, thus making Alinea the 2nd best restaurant in the U.S. and 7th overall. In November 2009, Achatz and his Alinea team designed the menu for Ikarus, a restaurant in Salzburg, Austria which brings in a top chef from a different restaurant each month to design the menu for that month and tra… | chefs |
| 2 | 2 | Joey Altman | Joey | Altman | M | He trained under Bernard Constantin at the Hotel Larivoire in Lyon, France, and with Jean Brouilly at Tarare in Brittany, France. He worked at the Harvest Restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1985 he moved to New Orleans, Louisiana to work for Emeril Lagasse at Commander's Palace. In San Francisco he worked for Jeremiah Tower at Stars, Taxi, and as a private chef at music promoter Bill Graham's concert venues. He was opening chef at Miss Pearl's Jam House, a restaurant at the Phoenix Hotel in San Francisco's Tenderloin District. He owned and ran the Wild Hare Restaurant in Menlo Park, California from 1999–2003. Beginning in 2002, Altman was spokesman for Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines. At Food Network, Altman hosted "Appetite for Adventure", which demonstrated outdoor travel cooking, and "Tasting Napa", a travelogue. He was the host of "What's Cooking with Joey Altman" on Shop at Home Network. In 1998 he launched the long-running "Bay Cafe", which features on-location and in-studio cooking demonstrations with guest chefs from around the San Francisco Bay Area. | Altman is a blues guitarist, performing with the all-chef band "Back Burner Blues" for charity events. | He trained under Bernard Constantin at the Hotel Larivoire in Lyon, France, and with Jean Brouilly at Tarare in Brittany, France. He worked at the Harvest Restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1985 he moved to New Orleans, Louisiana to work for Emeril Lagasse at Commander's Palace. In San Francisco he worked for Jeremiah Tower at Stars, Taxi, and as a private chef at music promoter Bill Graham's concert venues. He was opening chef at Miss Pearl's Jam House, a restaurant at the Phoenix Hotel in San Francisco's Tenderloin District. He owned and ran the Wild Hare Restaurant in Menlo Park, California from 1999–2003. Beginning in 2002, Altman was spokesman for Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines. At Food Network, Altman hosted "Appetite for Adventure", which demonstrated outdoor travel cooking, and "Tasting Napa", a travelogue. He was the host of "What's Cooking with Joey Altman" on Shop at Home Network. In 1998 he launched the long-running "Bay Cafe", which features on-location and in-studio cooking demonstrations with guest chefs from around the San Francisco Bay Area.Altman is a blues guitarist, performing with the all-chef band "Back Burner Blues" for charity events. | chefs |
| 3 | 3 | José Andrés | José | Andrés | M | At the age of 21, Andrés arrived in New York City with $50 (equivalent to $98 in 2019), to cook in midtown Manhattan at an outpost of a popular Spanish restaurant, Eldorado Petit. During his time in New York, he also staged servings at The Quilted Giraffe. In 1993, he was hired to lead the kitchen at Jaleo, a new tapas restaurant in Washington, D.C. In subsequent years, he helped the owners of Jaleo to open more restaurants: Cafe Atlantico, Zaytinya and Oyamel, along with two more Jaleo outposts. In 2003, Andrés started minibar – a restaurant space within a larger restaurant – at a six-seat counter within Cafe Atlantico. minibar is devoted to serving the most creative Andrés plates, and reservations would fill up a month in advance. As his restaurants in America enjoyed success, Andrés became more famous in his native Spain, starring in his own cooking show, "Vamos a Cocinar", which debuted in 2005. He also published his first book, "Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America," in 2005. In 2006, he negotiated with Robert Wilder to form ThinkFoodGroup, making Andrés a co-owner in his restaurants. Together, they opened more restaurants in Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Puerto Rico. Beginning in the fall of 2010, Andrés taught a culinary physics course at Harvard University with Ferran Adrià. In May 2012, Andrés was named dean of Spanish Studies at The International Culinary Center, where he and Colman Andrews developed a curriculum in traditional and modern Spanish cuisine, which debuted in February 2013. On 29 October 2012, he announced he was heading back to the classroom, and would teach his first course on how food shapes civilization at George Washington University. Andrés planned to open a restaurant in the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, in 2016. After Donald Trump made disparaging comments about undocumented Mexican immigrants in June 2015, Andrés withdrew from the contract with the Trump Organization, which then sued him. Andrés counter-sued, and the parties reached a settlement in April 2017. And… | Andrés is married to Patricia "Tichi" Fernández de la Cruz and has three daughters; they live in Bethesda, Maryland, United States. He met his wife while they were both living in Washington DC; she is originally from Cadiz in the southwest of Spain. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in December 2013. | At the age of 21, Andrés arrived in New York City with $50 (equivalent to $98 in 2019), to cook in midtown Manhattan at an outpost of a popular Spanish restaurant, Eldorado Petit. During his time in New York, he also staged servings at The Quilted Giraffe. In 1993, he was hired to lead the kitchen at Jaleo, a new tapas restaurant in Washington, D.C. In subsequent years, he helped the owners of Jaleo to open more restaurants: Cafe Atlantico, Zaytinya and Oyamel, along with two more Jaleo outposts. In 2003, Andrés started minibar – a restaurant space within a larger restaurant – at a six-seat counter within Cafe Atlantico. minibar is devoted to serving the most creative Andrés plates, and reservations would fill up a month in advance. As his restaurants in America enjoyed success, Andrés became more famous in his native Spain, starring in his own cooking show, "Vamos a Cocinar", which debuted in 2005. He also published his first book, "Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America," in 2005. In 2006, he negotiated with Robert Wilder to form ThinkFoodGroup, making Andrés a co-owner in his restaurants. Together, they opened more restaurants in Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Puerto Rico. Beginning in the fall of 2010, Andrés taught a culinary physics course at Harvard University with Ferran Adrià. In May 2012, Andrés was named dean of Spanish Studies at The International Culinary Center, where he and Colman Andrews developed a curriculum in traditional and modern Spanish cuisine, which debuted in February 2013. On 29 October 2012, he announced he was heading back to the classroom, and would teach his first course on how food shapes civilization at George Washington University. Andrés planned to open a restaurant in the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, in 2016. After Donald Trump made disparaging comments about undocumented Mexican immigrants in June 2015, Andrés withdrew from the contract with the Trump Organization, which then sued him. Andrés counter-sued, and the parties reached a settlement in April 2017. And… | chefs |
| 4 | 4 | Dan Barber | Dan | Barber | M | Barber operates Blue Hill in Manhattan and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, New York. Around 2009, Barber was involved in developing a miniature butternut squash. Together with Michael Mazourek, they created the honeynut squash. The two later created and operate Row 7 Seed Co., a seed company selling similar gourds and other specially-bred seeds. | He is married to Aria Beth Sloss, a short story writer, novelist and former food writer, with whom he has a daughter born in 2013. | Barber operates Blue Hill in Manhattan and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, New York. Around 2009, Barber was involved in developing a miniature butternut squash. Together with Michael Mazourek, they created the honeynut squash. The two later created and operate Row 7 Seed Co., a seed company selling similar gourds and other specially-bred seeds.He is married to Aria Beth Sloss, a short story writer, novelist and former food writer, with whom he has a daughter born in 2013. | chefs |
| 5 | 5 | James Beard | James | Beard | M | After training as a singer and actor, Beard moved to New York City in 1937. Unlucky in the theater, he and friend Bill Rhodes capitalized on the cocktail party craze by opening Hors d'Oeuvre, Inc., a catering company. This led to lecturing, teaching, writing, and the publication of Beard's first cookbook in 1940: Hors D'Oeuvre and Canapés, a compilation of his catering recipes. According to fellow cooking enthusiast Julia Child, this book put him on the culinary map. World War II rationing ended Beard's catering business. From August 1946 to May 1947, he hosted I Love to Eat, a live television cooking show on NBC, beginning his ascent as an American food authority. According to Child, "Through the years he gradually became not only the leading culinary figure in the country, but 'The Dean of American Cuisine'." In 1952, when Helen Evans Brown published her Helen Brown's West Coast Cook Book, Beard wrote her a letter igniting a friendship that spanned until Brown's death. The two, along with her husband Phillip, developed a friendship which was both professional and personal. Beard and Brown became like siblings, admonishing and encouraging each other, as well as collaborating.According to the James Beard Foundation website, "In 1955, he established The James Beard Cooking School. He continued to teach cooking to men and women for the next thirty years, both at his own schools (in New York City and Seaside, Oregon), and around the country at women's clubs, other cooking schools, and civic groups. He was a tireless traveler, bringing his message of good food, honestly prepared with fresh, wholesome, American ingredients, to a country just becoming aware of its own culinary heritage."Beard brought French cooking to the American middle and upper classes during the 1950s, appearing on TV as a cooking personality. David Kamp (who discusses Beard at length in his book, The United States of Arugula) noted that Beard's was the first cooking show on TV. He compares Dione Lucas' cooking show and school with Beard's, noting … | Julia Child summed up Beard's personal life: Beard was gay. According to Beard's memoir, "By the time I was seven, I knew that I was gay. I think it's time to talk about that now." Beard came out in 1981, in Delights and Prejudices, a revised version of his memoir. Of Beard’s “most significant romantic attachments” was his “lifetime companion” of thirty years, Gino Cofacci, who was given an apartment in Beard’s townhouse in the will and died in 1989, and Beard’s former cooking school assistant Carl Jerome. John Birdsall, a food writer who won two James Beard Awards, ties Beard’s sexuality to his food aesthetics, and said in 2016 it’s only recently that people are accepting the connection. Beard's also had an admission of having "until I was about forty-five, I guess I had a really violent temper." Mark Bittman described him in a manner similar to Child's description: James Beard died of heart failure on January 21, 1985 at his home in New York City at age 81. He was cremated and his ashes scattered over the beach in Gearhart, Oregon, where he spent summers as a child. In 1995, Love and Kisses and a Halo of Truffles: Letters from Helen Evans Brown was published. It contained excerpts from Beard's bi-weekly correspondence from 1952 to 1964 with friend and fellow chef Helen Evans Brown. The book gave insight to their relationship as well as the way that they developed ideas for recipes, projects and food. | After training as a singer and actor, Beard moved to New York City in 1937. Unlucky in the theater, he and friend Bill Rhodes capitalized on the cocktail party craze by opening Hors d'Oeuvre, Inc., a catering company. This led to lecturing, teaching, writing, and the publication of Beard's first cookbook in 1940: Hors D'Oeuvre and Canapés, a compilation of his catering recipes. According to fellow cooking enthusiast Julia Child, this book put him on the culinary map. World War II rationing ended Beard's catering business. From August 1946 to May 1947, he hosted I Love to Eat, a live television cooking show on NBC, beginning his ascent as an American food authority. According to Child, "Through the years he gradually became not only the leading culinary figure in the country, but 'The Dean of American Cuisine'." In 1952, when Helen Evans Brown published her Helen Brown's West Coast Cook Book, Beard wrote her a letter igniting a friendship that spanned until Brown's death. The two, along with her husband Phillip, developed a friendship which was both professional and personal. Beard and Brown became like siblings, admonishing and encouraging each other, as well as collaborating.According to the James Beard Foundation website, "In 1955, he established The James Beard Cooking School. He continued to teach cooking to men and women for the next thirty years, both at his own schools (in New York City and Seaside, Oregon), and around the country at women's clubs, other cooking schools, and civic groups. He was a tireless traveler, bringing his message of good food, honestly prepared with fresh, wholesome, American ingredients, to a country just becoming aware of its own culinary heritage."Beard brought French cooking to the American middle and upper classes during the 1950s, appearing on TV as a cooking personality. David Kamp (who discusses Beard at length in his book, The United States of Arugula) noted that Beard's was the first cooking show on TV. He compares Dione Lucas' cooking show and school with Beard's, noting … | chefs |
| 6 | 6 | Ron Ben-Israel | Ron | Ben-Israel | M | Ben-Israel started a dance career at age 21, right after leaving the army. He specialized in modern dance. He danced with the Israeli dance companies Batsheva and Bat-Dor over a period of some 15 years, and toured internationally. Near the end of his dancing career, he moved to the United States.In 1993, while living in New York City, Ben-Israel retired from dancing, in part due to having developed arthritis. He started a new career in cooking, doing temporary jobs making cakes and designing shop windows. In 1996, he fell in love with baking. He was discovered and mentored by Betty Van Nostrand and Martha Stewart who saw one of his cakes in a window. Ben-Israel's confectionery pieces have been featured at the openings of the Mandarin Oriental, New York and The Ritz-Carlton and are part of events at other New York hotels including the St. Regis, the Pierre, and the New York Palace. Modern Bride, Town & Country, Martha Stewart Weddings, InStyle, The New York Times, and Vogue have commissioned his cake designs. His television appearances include Martha Stewart, the Bravo Network, The Oprah Winfrey Show, the Food Network, and the Late Show with David Letterman. From 2011 to 2013, Ben-Israel was the host and judge of the Food Network competition show Sweet Genius. Ben-Israel is a Visiting Master Pastry-Instructor at The International Culinary Center in New York City. He teaches the Classic Pastry Arts class and the Cake Techniques & Design class his approach to sugar paste. Ben-Israel appeared as a guest judge on Season 2 of the Netflix Baking-parody show Nailed It!. He has also appeared as a guest judge on Season 3 of Netflix's Sugar Rush. | Ben-Israel is gay. | Ben-Israel started a dance career at age 21, right after leaving the army. He specialized in modern dance. He danced with the Israeli dance companies Batsheva and Bat-Dor over a period of some 15 years, and toured internationally. Near the end of his dancing career, he moved to the United States.In 1993, while living in New York City, Ben-Israel retired from dancing, in part due to having developed arthritis. He started a new career in cooking, doing temporary jobs making cakes and designing shop windows. In 1996, he fell in love with baking. He was discovered and mentored by Betty Van Nostrand and Martha Stewart who saw one of his cakes in a window. Ben-Israel's confectionery pieces have been featured at the openings of the Mandarin Oriental, New York and The Ritz-Carlton and are part of events at other New York hotels including the St. Regis, the Pierre, and the New York Palace. Modern Bride, Town & Country, Martha Stewart Weddings, InStyle, The New York Times, and Vogue have commissioned his cake designs. His television appearances include Martha Stewart, the Bravo Network, The Oprah Winfrey Show, the Food Network, and the Late Show with David Letterman. From 2011 to 2013, Ben-Israel was the host and judge of the Food Network competition show Sweet Genius. Ben-Israel is a Visiting Master Pastry-Instructor at The International Culinary Center in New York City. He teaches the Classic Pastry Arts class and the Cake Techniques & Design class his approach to sugar paste. Ben-Israel appeared as a guest judge on Season 2 of the Netflix Baking-parody show Nailed It!. He has also appeared as a guest judge on Season 3 of Netflix's Sugar Rush.Ben-Israel is gay. | chefs |
| 7 | 7 | Dave Beran | Dave | Beran | M | Beran was the executive chef at Next, which is co-owned by Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas. He announced his departure from Next Restaurant on April 14, 2016, citing his desires to start his own restaurant in Los Angeles. He owns and operates two restaurants in the Santa Monica neighborhood of Los Angeles: Dialogue (one michelin star) and Pasjoli. | Beran lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Jamie Schneiter, and two French Bulldogs. Chef Dave Beran is an avid marathon runner and has been known to run the Chicago Marathon and show up to work a full day afterwards. | Beran was the executive chef at Next, which is co-owned by Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas. He announced his departure from Next Restaurant on April 14, 2016, citing his desires to start his own restaurant in Los Angeles. He owns and operates two restaurants in the Santa Monica neighborhood of Los Angeles: Dialogue (one michelin star) and Pasjoli.Beran lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Jamie Schneiter, and two French Bulldogs. Chef Dave Beran is an avid marathon runner and has been known to run the Chicago Marathon and show up to work a full day afterwards. | chefs |
| 8 | 8 | Jack Bishop | Jack | Bishop | M | In 1988, Jack Bishop started working at Cook's Magazine and collaborated on the launch of Cook's Illustrated in 1993. During his tenure with Cook's, he established tasting conventions later used at America's Test Kitchen. Jack edited The Best Recipe (1999), co-directed Cook's Country magazine in 2005, and became a cast member of America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Country on PBS, hosting the Testing Lab segments and serving as an executive producer. Jack also regularly appears on Today (NBC). | Jack studied cooking in Florence, Italy. He graduated from Mountain Lakes High School, New Jersey and considers Mountain Lakes his hometown. His mother first taught him to cook at home when he was 12 years old, as she worked late hours and his father was not a very good cook. He lives in Sag Harbor, New York with his food-writer wife, Lauren Chattman and their two daughters. Jack is a decade-long member of his local community farm. | Jack studied cooking in Florence, Italy. He graduated from Mountain Lakes High School, New Jersey and considers Mountain Lakes his hometown. His mother first taught him to cook at home when he was 12 years old, as she worked late hours and his father was not a very good cook. He lives in Sag Harbor, New York with his food-writer wife, Lauren Chattman and their two daughters. Jack is a decade-long member of his local community farm.In 1988, Jack Bishop started working at Cook's Magazine and collaborated on the launch of Cook's Illustrated in 1993. During his tenure with Cook's, he established tasting conventions later used at America's Test Kitchen. Jack edited The Best Recipe (1999), co-directed Cook's Country magazine in 2005, and became a cast member of America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Country on PBS, hosting the Testing Lab segments and serving as an executive producer. Jack also regularly appears on Today (NBC). | chefs |
| 9 | 9 | Mark Bittman | Mark | Bittman | M | Bittman is a journalist, food writer, and author of 14 books, including the bestselling How to Cook Everything and Vegan Before 6 P.M. (VB6). His most recent cookbook is How to Cook Everything Fast. He has been the recipient of International Association of Culinary Professionals, Julia Child, and James Beard awards for his writing. Bittman was an Opinions columnist for The New York Times, a food columnist for the paper's Dining section, and the lead food writer for The New York Times Magazine. His column, "The Minimalist," ran in The New York Times for more than 13 years; the final column was published on January 26, 2011. He also hosted a weekly "Minimalist" cooking video on the New York Times website. Bittman is a regular guest on NBC's The Today Show and the NPR shows All Things Considered and Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. He appeared as a guest judge on the Food Network competition series Chopped and was featured alongside Gwyneth Paltrow and Mario Batali in a PBS series called Spain... on the Road Again in 2008. In 2014, Bittman appeared as a correspondent for the climate change documentary show Years of Living Dangerously. Bittman has written and co-written 16 books and cookbooks. His most recent book, How to Cook Everything Fast, was released October 7, 2014. He is also the author of Vegan Before 6 P.M. and The VB6 Cookbook, where he provides all the necessary tools for making the switch to a flexitarian diet. His VB6 diet has been described as about 75% vegan. In 2005 he published the books The Best Recipes in the World and Bittman Takes on America's Chefs, and hosted the Public Television series Bittman Takes on America's Chefs, which won the James Beard Award for best cooking series. In 2007 he published How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. In 2009 he published the book Food Matters, which covers food-related topics such as environmental challenges, lifestyle diseases, overproduction and over-consumption of meat and simple carbohydrates. He also began the TV series Kitchen Express. Bittman has written the bo… | Bittman is a graduate of Stuyvesant High School (1967) and Clark University. He lived in Berkeley, California from 2015 to 2017. He has two adult daughters from a prior marriage. Bittman runs marathons and is a licensed pilot. He now lives in Cold Spring, New York. Bittman is Jewish, and his grandparents emigrated from Ukraine and Romania. | Bittman is a journalist, food writer, and author of 14 books, including the bestselling How to Cook Everything and Vegan Before 6 P.M. (VB6). His most recent cookbook is How to Cook Everything Fast. He has been the recipient of International Association of Culinary Professionals, Julia Child, and James Beard awards for his writing. Bittman was an Opinions columnist for The New York Times, a food columnist for the paper's Dining section, and the lead food writer for The New York Times Magazine. His column, "The Minimalist," ran in The New York Times for more than 13 years; the final column was published on January 26, 2011. He also hosted a weekly "Minimalist" cooking video on the New York Times website. Bittman is a regular guest on NBC's The Today Show and the NPR shows All Things Considered and Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. He appeared as a guest judge on the Food Network competition series Chopped and was featured alongside Gwyneth Paltrow and Mario Batali in a PBS series called Spain... on the Road Again in 2008. In 2014, Bittman appeared as a correspondent for the climate change documentary show Years of Living Dangerously. Bittman has written and co-written 16 books and cookbooks. His most recent book, How to Cook Everything Fast, was released October 7, 2014. He is also the author of Vegan Before 6 P.M. and The VB6 Cookbook, where he provides all the necessary tools for making the switch to a flexitarian diet. His VB6 diet has been described as about 75% vegan. In 2005 he published the books The Best Recipes in the World and Bittman Takes on America's Chefs, and hosted the Public Television series Bittman Takes on America's Chefs, which won the James Beard Award for best cooking series. In 2007 he published How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. In 2009 he published the book Food Matters, which covers food-related topics such as environmental challenges, lifestyle diseases, overproduction and over-consumption of meat and simple carbohydrates. He also began the TV series Kitchen Express. Bittman has written the bo… | chefs |
| 10 | 10 | Anthony Bourdain | Anthony | Bourdain | M | Bourdain's love of food was kindled in his youth while on a family vacation in France when he tried his first oyster on a fisherman's boat. He graduated from the Dwight-Englewood School—an independent coeducational college-preparatory day school in Englewood, New Jersey—in 1973, then enrolled at Vassar College, but dropped out after two years. He worked in seafood restaurants in Provincetown, Massachusetts, while attending Vassar, which inspired his decision to pursue cooking as a career. Bourdain attended The Culinary Institute of America, graduating in 1978. From there he went on to run various restaurant kitchens in New York City, including the Supper Club, One Fifth Avenue, and Sullivan's. In 1988, Bourdain became an executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles. Based in Manhattan, at the time the brand had additional restaurants in Miami, Washington, D.C., and Tokyo. Bourdain remained an executive chef there for many years, and, even when no longer formally employed at Les Halles, maintained a relationship with the restaurant, which described him in January 2014 as their "chef at large." Les Halles closed in 2017, after filing for bankruptcy.In the mid-1980s, Bourdain began submitting unsolicited work for publication to Between C & D, a literary magazine of the Lower East Side. The magazine eventually published a piece that Bourdain had written about a chef who was trying to purchase heroin in the Lower East Side. In 1985, Bourdain signed up for a writing workshop with Gordon Lish. In 1990, Bourdain received a small book advance from Random House, after meeting a Random House editor. His first book, a culinary mystery Bone in the Throat, was published in 1995. He paid for his own book tour, but he did not find success. His second mystery book, Gone Bamboo, also performed poorly in sales. Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (2000), a New York Times bestseller, was an expansion of his 1999 New Yorker article "Don't Eat Before Reading This." A prequel to the book, Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentin… | Bourdain married his high school girlfriend, Nancy Putkoski, in 1985, and they remained together for two decades, divorcing in 2005. On April 20, 2007, he married Ottavia Busia, a mixed martial artist. The couple's daughter, Ariane, was born in 2007. Bourdain said having to be away from his family for 250 days a year working on his television shows was a strain. Busia appeared in several episodes of No Reservations, notably the ones in her birthplace of Sardinia, Tuscany, Rome, Rio de Janeiro and Naples. The couple separated in 2016. In 2017, Bourdain began a relationship with the Italian actress Asia Argento, who he met when she appeared on the Rome episode of Parts Unknown. Bourdain practiced the martial art Brazilian jiu-jitsu, earning a blue belt in August 2015. He won gold at the IBJJF New York Spring International Open Championship in 2016, in the Middleweight Master 5 (age 51 and older) division. Bourdain was known to be a heavy smoker. In a nod to Bourdain's two-pack-a-day cigarette habit, Thomas Keller once served him a 20-course tasting menu which included a mid-meal “coffee and cigarette,” a coffee custard infused with tobacco, with a foie gras mousse. Bourdain stopped smoking in 2007 for his daughter. A former user of cocaine, heroin, and LSD, Bourdain wrote in Kitchen Confidential of his experience in a trendy SoHo restaurant in 1981, where he and his friends were often high. Bourdain said drugs influenced his decisions, and that he sent a busboy to Alphabet City to obtain cannabis, methaqualone, cocaine, LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, secobarbital, tuinal, amphetamine, codeine and heroin. | Bourdain's love of food was kindled in his youth while on a family vacation in France when he tried his first oyster on a fisherman's boat. He graduated from the Dwight-Englewood School—an independent coeducational college-preparatory day school in Englewood, New Jersey—in 1973, then enrolled at Vassar College, but dropped out after two years. He worked in seafood restaurants in Provincetown, Massachusetts, while attending Vassar, which inspired his decision to pursue cooking as a career. Bourdain attended The Culinary Institute of America, graduating in 1978. From there he went on to run various restaurant kitchens in New York City, including the Supper Club, One Fifth Avenue, and Sullivan's. In 1988, Bourdain became an executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles. Based in Manhattan, at the time the brand had additional restaurants in Miami, Washington, D.C., and Tokyo. Bourdain remained an executive chef there for many years, and, even when no longer formally employed at Les Halles, maintained a relationship with the restaurant, which described him in January 2014 as their "chef at large." Les Halles closed in 2017, after filing for bankruptcy.In the mid-1980s, Bourdain began submitting unsolicited work for publication to Between C & D, a literary magazine of the Lower East Side. The magazine eventually published a piece that Bourdain had written about a chef who was trying to purchase heroin in the Lower East Side. In 1985, Bourdain signed up for a writing workshop with Gordon Lish. In 1990, Bourdain received a small book advance from Random House, after meeting a Random House editor. His first book, a culinary mystery Bone in the Throat, was published in 1995. He paid for his own book tour, but he did not find success. His second mystery book, Gone Bamboo, also performed poorly in sales. Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (2000), a New York Times bestseller, was an expansion of his 1999 New Yorker article "Don't Eat Before Reading This." A prequel to the book, Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentin… | chefs |
| 11 | 11 | Alton Brown | Alton | Brown | M | Brown was dissatisfied with the quality of cooking shows airing on American television, so he set out to produce his own show. In preparation, he enrolled in the New England Culinary Institute, graduating in 1997. Brown says that he was a poor science student in high school and college, but he focused on the subject to understand the underlying processes of cooking. He is outspoken in his shows about his dislike of single-purpose kitchen utensils and equipment ("unitaskers"), such as garlic presses and margarita machines, although he adapts a few traditionally single-purpose devices, such as rice cookers and melon ballers, into multi-purpose tools. The pilot for Good Eats first aired in July 1998 on the PBS member TV station WTTW in Chicago, Illinois. Food Network picked up the show in July 1999. In May 2011, Alton Brown announced an end to Good Eats after 14 seasons. The final episode, "Turn on the Dark", aired February 10, 2012. Many of the Good Eats episodes feature Brown building makeshift cooking devices in order to point out that many of the devices sold at conventional "cooking" stores are simply fancified hardware store items. Good Eats was nominated for the Best T.V. Food Journalism Award by the James Beard Foundation in 2000. The show was also awarded a 2006 Peabody Award. On Alton's 2017 book tour he stated Good Eats will have a "sequel" and it will be released to the Internet in 2018. This was changed in late 2018, when Brown made arrangements with Cooking Channel to air "revised" versions of several episodes with new recipes entitled Good Eats Reloaded, in which he stated new episodes of Good Eats are also in the works. 13 episodes of "Good Eats Reloaded" aired late winter and early spring 2019, and were added to the Good Eats reruns on The Cooking Channel. It was then announced on June 5, 2019, that the new show will be called "Good Eats Returns" and would premier on the Food Network Sunday, August 25 at 10 p.m. Brown relaunched the show in two versions: as Good Eats Reloaded on Cooking Channel (w… | Brown lives in Marietta, Georgia. He and his former wife DeAnna, an executive producer on Good Eats, divorced in 2015. DeAnna and Alton have one daughter, Zoey (born in 1999). A few members of his extended family appeared on Good Eats (such as his late grandmother, Ma Mae, his mother, and daughter, Zoey, who is known on the show as "Alton's Spawn"), but most of his "family" portrayed on the series were actors or members of the show's production crew. Brown and Atlanta restaurant designer Elizabeth Ingram became engaged in 2018. According to Brown's Instagram account, as of September 2018, he and Ingram had married, on a boat in Charleston, SC. Brown and Elizabeth Ingram have two dogs: a terrier named Francis Luther and a Boston terrier/pug mix that the couple rescued in 2018 named Scabigail Van Buren. Brown was once a motorcycling enthusiast, owning a BMW R1150RT, although he no longer owns one. He gave up motorcycling by 2012, citing issues of slowing reflexes and safety. In a recent Quarantine Quitchen episode, Brown stated that he currently owns a 1980 BMW R60. Additionally, Brown was an airplane pilot, and was featured in the aviation magazine AOPA Flight Training. He owned two planes, a Cessna 206 and a Cessna 414. Brown enjoys vintage watches, and wore a different watch for every season of Good Eats; this was used in production to quickly identify which season a clip is from. When his watch broke down mid-season, he continued to wear the broken timepiece to maintain this system. Twenty years after the Omega Seamaster watch his father left him was stolen, Brown bought it from an eBay seller and had it restored. Brown changed his eating habits in 2009 in order to lose weight and become healthier, losing 50 pounds (23 kg) over the course of nine months. Brown discussed his Christian beliefs in a 2010 interview with Eater. He said at the time: Brown said in a December 2014 interview in Time that he "could no longer abide the Southern Baptist Convention's indoctrination of children and its anti-gay stance" add… | Brown was dissatisfied with the quality of cooking shows airing on American television, so he set out to produce his own show. In preparation, he enrolled in the New England Culinary Institute, graduating in 1997. Brown says that he was a poor science student in high school and college, but he focused on the subject to understand the underlying processes of cooking. He is outspoken in his shows about his dislike of single-purpose kitchen utensils and equipment ("unitaskers"), such as garlic presses and margarita machines, although he adapts a few traditionally single-purpose devices, such as rice cookers and melon ballers, into multi-purpose tools. The pilot for Good Eats first aired in July 1998 on the PBS member TV station WTTW in Chicago, Illinois. Food Network picked up the show in July 1999. In May 2011, Alton Brown announced an end to Good Eats after 14 seasons. The final episode, "Turn on the Dark", aired February 10, 2012. Many of the Good Eats episodes feature Brown building makeshift cooking devices in order to point out that many of the devices sold at conventional "cooking" stores are simply fancified hardware store items. Good Eats was nominated for the Best T.V. Food Journalism Award by the James Beard Foundation in 2000. The show was also awarded a 2006 Peabody Award. On Alton's 2017 book tour he stated Good Eats will have a "sequel" and it will be released to the Internet in 2018. This was changed in late 2018, when Brown made arrangements with Cooking Channel to air "revised" versions of several episodes with new recipes entitled Good Eats Reloaded, in which he stated new episodes of Good Eats are also in the works. 13 episodes of "Good Eats Reloaded" aired late winter and early spring 2019, and were added to the Good Eats reruns on The Cooking Channel. It was then announced on June 5, 2019, that the new show will be called "Good Eats Returns" and would premier on the Food Network Sunday, August 25 at 10 p.m. Brown relaunched the show in two versions: as Good Eats Reloaded on Cooking Channel (w… | chefs |
| 12 | 12 | David Burtka | David | Burtka | M | Burtka made his television debut in 2002 with a guest role on The West Wing. This was followed by guest appearances on Crossing Jordan. Burtka made his Broadway debut as Tulsa in the 2003 revival of Gypsy, which starred Bernadette Peters. He played The Boy in the American premiere of Edward Albee's The Play About the Baby, for which he won the 2001 Clarence Derwent Award for most promising male performer. In 2004, Burtka originated the role of Matt in the musical The Opposite of Sex and reprised the role in the work's East Coast premiere in the summer of 2006. Burtka appeared in seven episodes of How I Met Your Mother; in all seven such installments, he played "Scooter," the former high school boyfriend of Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan), who still had not gotten over their breakup. Burtka made a cameo appearance, in A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, as himself; in it, he also shared a scene with Neil Patrick Harris, in a part that was much like his character from How I Met Your Mother. Burtka starred in Osiris Entertainment's 2013 film Annie and the Gypsy, and had a featured role in the 2014 film Dance Off. Burtka returned to Broadway in a comedy play, which David Hyde Pierce directed, titled It Shoulda Been You. In the play, staged in late April 2015, he assumed the role of a Catholic fiancé of a Jewish bride, who was played by Sierra Boggess, whose wedding day is disrupted when her ex-boyfriend shows up at the wedding. Additional cast members included Tyne Daly and Harriet Harris. | Six months after Burtka's first How I Met Your Mother appearance, allegations arose that the actor had received the part because of a romantic relationship with one of the show's stars, actor Neil Patrick Harris. Speculation around this story eventually led Harris to acknowledge publicly that he himself was gay in a cover story in People Weekly Magazine. Burtka made no public response to the story, though later Harris stated that he and Burtka were moving in together. Burtka and Harris attended the Emmy Awards in September 2007 as an openly acknowledged couple for the first time, an appearance which Harris discussed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Burtka's mother died of cancer in May 2008. On February 4, 2009, Burtka and Harris appeared for the first time on stage together, singing a duet from Rent at a benefit for The LGBT Community Center in New York. The two actors had been together since April 2004. Harris customarily referred to Burtka as "my better half" and "an amazing chef." Burtka and Harris became parents to fraternal twins Gideon Scott and Harper Grace, who were born in October 2010, via a surrogate mother.Burtka, although not the biological father of his ex Lane Janger's children, who had also been born via surrogate, has remained close to them over the years. Following the passage of the Marriage Equality Act in New York on June 24, 2011, Burtka and Harris announced their engagement, stating that they had proposed to each other five years earlier but had kept the engagement secret until same-sex marriage became legal in their state. According to Harris, Burtka quit acting full-time to become a professional chef. He graduated from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Pasadena in the summer of 2009; afterwards, he began running a Los Angeles catering company which he called "Gourmet M.D." Burtka did continue to act, including in It Shoulda Been You on Broadway in 2015. Burtka's first cookbook, Life is a Party, a collection of recipes and tips on entertaining, was published in April 2019. | Burtka made his television debut in 2002 with a guest role on The West Wing. This was followed by guest appearances on Crossing Jordan. Burtka made his Broadway debut as Tulsa in the 2003 revival of Gypsy, which starred Bernadette Peters. He played The Boy in the American premiere of Edward Albee's The Play About the Baby, for which he won the 2001 Clarence Derwent Award for most promising male performer. In 2004, Burtka originated the role of Matt in the musical The Opposite of Sex and reprised the role in the work's East Coast premiere in the summer of 2006. Burtka appeared in seven episodes of How I Met Your Mother; in all seven such installments, he played "Scooter," the former high school boyfriend of Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan), who still had not gotten over their breakup. Burtka made a cameo appearance, in A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, as himself; in it, he also shared a scene with Neil Patrick Harris, in a part that was much like his character from How I Met Your Mother. Burtka starred in Osiris Entertainment's 2013 film Annie and the Gypsy, and had a featured role in the 2014 film Dance Off. Burtka returned to Broadway in a comedy play, which David Hyde Pierce directed, titled It Shoulda Been You. In the play, staged in late April 2015, he assumed the role of a Catholic fiancé of a Jewish bride, who was played by Sierra Boggess, whose wedding day is disrupted when her ex-boyfriend shows up at the wedding. Additional cast members included Tyne Daly and Harriet Harris.Six months after Burtka's first How I Met Your Mother appearance, allegations arose that the actor had received the part because of a romantic relationship with one of the show's stars, actor Neil Patrick Harris. Speculation around this story eventually led Harris to acknowledge publicly that he himself was gay in a cover story in People Weekly Magazine. Burtka made no public response to the story, though later Harris stated that he and Burtka were moving in together. Burtka and Harris attended the Emmy Awards in September 2007 as a… | chefs |
| 13 | 13 | Homaro Cantu | Homaro | Cantu | M | Cantu graduated from the Western Culinary Institute (now a Le Cordon Bleu School) and spent the next two years staging on the West Coast. After about 50 such two-week to one-month internships, he was ready for a paid job. One day in February 1999, he decided to try to get a job with his idol, Charlie Trotter. "I made it my life's goal to become a sous chef for Charlie Trotter," Cantu remarked. "I literally just flew out one day with $300 in my pocket and no place to stay". Cantu had no real plan to get employed – he simply showed up at Trotter's back door and begged him for a job. Trotter agreed to an interview the following day, and was impressed enough to give Cantu a job. Cantu worked his way up the ranks, becoming one of Trotter's sous chefs. On his days off, he began to explore new ways to prepare and present food. In 2003, Cantu learned of a chef opening at a soon-to-open restaurant called Moto. The restaurant's backer, Joseph De Vito, was looking to do something a bit out of the ordinary, perhaps Asian fusion. When Cantu interviewed for the position, he pitched something really different. "This guy comes in with these little glasses, he looks like an accountant," De Vito recalled, "and started talking about levitating food. I walked away saying, 'Wow, that's a lot to take in.'" Cantu persuaded De Vito to let him cook a meal for De Vito and his wife. The seven-course meal, which featured an exploding ravioli and a small table-top box that cooked fish before the guest's eyes, won De Vito over. When Moto opened in January 2004, guests were confused. People would come in looking for sushi and leave when offered a degustation menu instead, De Vito recalled. Enough people braved the menu, however, and soon the restaurant was discovered by foodies. Cantu quickly earned a reputation for shocking guests. For example, one feature was synthetic wine squirted into the glass with a medical syringe. Other innovations included edible menus and carbonated fruit. Describing himself as a scientist at heart… | In 2007, Cantu appeared on Iron Chef America, defeating Masaharu Morimoto. In the episode, Cantu used a laser to caramelize edible packaging material, and liquid nitrogen to create beet (which was the secret ingredient) "balloons," among other innovations. He returned to the show in 2013, again facing off with Morimoto, this time in a battle of herring. He lost the rematch. Also in 2007, Cantu was featured in the documentary series Unwrapped and on Dinner: Impossible. He appeared on Good Morning America and twice on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. He was featured on Roadtrip Nation in season six and was twice a guest judge on Hell's Kitchen. Cantu was also featured in the At the Table with ... documentary series and the British science documentary series Horizon. He appeared on the November 27, 2011, episode of CNN's The Next List. In 2010, Cantu produced and co-hosted a TV show called Future Food on Discovery's Planet Green. Following his death in 2015, Director/Producer Brett A. Schwartz of StoryScreen directed and produced a feature-length documentary film called Insatiable: The Homaro Cantu Story (2016). Insatiable had its world premiere at SXSW (South By Southwest Film Festival) in March 2016. According to Pamela Powell of the Chicago Indie Critics, "'Insatiable: The Homaro Cantu Story" is a delectable delivery of innovation and inspiration ... Gorgeously shot with thought-provoking interviews, 'Insatiable' will whet your appetite for food and knowledge. It's a story that will satisfy your hunger for greater things and it just might motivate the next genius to help our world." Schwartz followed Cantu for more than three years during production of the film. Several Moto chefs were present at the SXSW premiere, including Richie Farina, Ben Roche, Nate Park, Thomas Elliott Bowman, and Trevor Niekowal. Syndicated Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips named Insatiable a "daily pick" during the 2016 Chicago International Film Festival. The film is distributed by Virgil Films & Entertainment and is wi… | Cantu graduated from the Western Culinary Institute (now a Le Cordon Bleu School) and spent the next two years staging on the West Coast. After about 50 such two-week to one-month internships, he was ready for a paid job. One day in February 1999, he decided to try to get a job with his idol, Charlie Trotter. "I made it my life's goal to become a sous chef for Charlie Trotter," Cantu remarked. "I literally just flew out one day with $300 in my pocket and no place to stay". Cantu had no real plan to get employed – he simply showed up at Trotter's back door and begged him for a job. Trotter agreed to an interview the following day, and was impressed enough to give Cantu a job. Cantu worked his way up the ranks, becoming one of Trotter's sous chefs. On his days off, he began to explore new ways to prepare and present food. In 2003, Cantu learned of a chef opening at a soon-to-open restaurant called Moto. The restaurant's backer, Joseph De Vito, was looking to do something a bit out of the ordinary, perhaps Asian fusion. When Cantu interviewed for the position, he pitched something really different. "This guy comes in with these little glasses, he looks like an accountant," De Vito recalled, "and started talking about levitating food. I walked away saying, 'Wow, that's a lot to take in.'" Cantu persuaded De Vito to let him cook a meal for De Vito and his wife. The seven-course meal, which featured an exploding ravioli and a small table-top box that cooked fish before the guest's eyes, won De Vito over. When Moto opened in January 2004, guests were confused. People would come in looking for sushi and leave when offered a degustation menu instead, De Vito recalled. Enough people braved the menu, however, and soon the restaurant was discovered by foodies. Cantu quickly earned a reputation for shocking guests. For example, one feature was synthetic wine squirted into the glass with a medical syringe. Other innovations included edible menus and carbonated fruit. Describing himself as a scientist at heart… | chefs |
| 14 | 14 | Adam Carmer | Adam | Carmer | M | Carmer's first job in Las Vegas while completing his degree was as a maitre’d on the opening team at Treasure Island in 1993. In November 1996, he was inducted into the Chaine des Rotisseurs gourmet club. From 1997 to 2000, he worked as the Director of Restaurants and Hotel Sommelier for The Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. It was during this time he became Steve Wynn's first hotel Sommelier. Carmer devised and demonstrated a new form of table service called "Apparition Service” at Café Michelle in August 2002. He has served as a professor for the UNLV Harrah’s Hotel College since 1996 teaching courses in cost control, entrepreneurship, spirits, old world wine, new world wine and beer. In June 2003, Carmer opened The Freakin' Frog, followed by The Whisky Attic in 2005. The bar was originally opened as a beer and wine café with ten beers on tap and 300 wines. Through customer feedback it evolved into the first craft beer bar in Nevada and the first whisky bar of its kind in the country. The Freakin' Frog offered over 1000 types of beer in bottles, with 15 taps that were constantly updated. As of late October 2013, The Freakin' Frog is officially on hiatus. The Whisky Attic was originally located upstairs from the Frog and stocked with over 900 whiskies from around the world. The Whisky Attic is still operational and moved to its current location in the city. Through his teaching and tasting experiences, he developed the Carmer Spirits Taste Enhancement Method, known as CSTEM or '"The Method". He appeared on Bar Rescue as a craft beer expert. | Adam Carmer was born April 3, 1966, in Beverly Hills, CA, to Robert “Skippy” and Nina Carmer. He lived in Beverly Hills until moving to the San Fernando Valley in 1976. He married his wife Jill on Oct 12, 1991. They have three children together and live in Las Vegas, Nevada. | Adam Carmer was born April 3, 1966, in Beverly Hills, CA, to Robert “Skippy” and Nina Carmer. He lived in Beverly Hills until moving to the San Fernando Valley in 1976. He married his wife Jill on Oct 12, 1991. They have three children together and live in Las Vegas, Nevada.Carmer's first job in Las Vegas while completing his degree was as a maitre’d on the opening team at Treasure Island in 1993. In November 1996, he was inducted into the Chaine des Rotisseurs gourmet club. From 1997 to 2000, he worked as the Director of Restaurants and Hotel Sommelier for The Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. It was during this time he became Steve Wynn's first hotel Sommelier. Carmer devised and demonstrated a new form of table service called "Apparition Service” at Café Michelle in August 2002. He has served as a professor for the UNLV Harrah’s Hotel College since 1996 teaching courses in cost control, entrepreneurship, spirits, old world wine, new world wine and beer. In June 2003, Carmer opened The Freakin' Frog, followed by The Whisky Attic in 2005. The bar was originally opened as a beer and wine café with ten beers on tap and 300 wines. Through customer feedback it evolved into the first craft beer bar in Nevada and the first whisky bar of its kind in the country. The Freakin' Frog offered over 1000 types of beer in bottles, with 15 taps that were constantly updated. As of late October 2013, The Freakin' Frog is officially on hiatus. The Whisky Attic was originally located upstairs from the Frog and stocked with over 900 whiskies from around the world. The Whisky Attic is still operational and moved to its current location in the city. Through his teaching and tasting experiences, he developed the Carmer Spirits Taste Enhancement Method, known as CSTEM or '"The Method". He appeared on Bar Rescue as a craft beer expert. | chefs |
| 15 | 15 | Pierre Chambrin | Pierre | Chambrin | M | Chambrin was born in Paris on September 13, 1947. He received his culinary education at the Ecole des Metiers de l'alimentation, which he attended from 1961 to 1963. He moved to the United States in 1969 and opened a restaurant in Massachusetts. In 1979 Chambrin took over the Washington, D.C. restaurant Maison Blanche, located near the White House.After leaving the White House, Chambrin became the executive chef at the Saint Louis Club in St. Louis, Missouri. The Maitres Cuisiniers de France named him "Chef of the Year" in 2008, and the Academie Culinaire de France bestowed its Lifetime Achievement Award on him in 2013. | Chambrin is married and has two children. He became a United States citizen in 1977. | Chambrin was born in Paris on September 13, 1947. He received his culinary education at the Ecole des Metiers de l'alimentation, which he attended from 1961 to 1963. He moved to the United States in 1969 and opened a restaurant in Massachusetts. In 1979 Chambrin took over the Washington, D.C. restaurant Maison Blanche, located near the White House.After leaving the White House, Chambrin became the executive chef at the Saint Louis Club in St. Louis, Missouri. The Maitres Cuisiniers de France named him "Chef of the Year" in 2008, and the Academie Culinaire de France bestowed its Lifetime Achievement Award on him in 2013.Chambrin is married and has two children. He became a United States citizen in 1977. | chefs |
| 16 | 16 | Michael Chiarello | Michael | Chiarello | M | Born to an Italian-American family, Chiarello rose to prominence at a young age. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in 1982, he studied hospitality management at Florida International University, receiving his Bachelor's degree in 1984. The next year, he opened The Grand Bay Hotel in Coconut Grove, Florida, and Toby's Bar and Grill. He was honored as 1985's Chef of the Year by Food & Wine Magazine. Later in the 1980s, Chiarello moved back to his home state of California, making his home in the Napa Valley. One of his first endeavors was chef at The Heritage Restaurant in Turlock which failed and went bankrupt. He opened the Tra Vigne restaurant, creating a menu influenced by the cuisine of his family's native Calabria and rife with local seasonal ingredients. He has since served as executive chef in numerous American restaurants including Caffe Museo in San Francisco, Ajax Tavern and Bump's in Aspen, Colorado, and Bistecca in Scottsdale, Arizona.His first cooking show, Season by Season, debuted on PBS in 2001. He hosted two more series for PBS, Michael Chiarello's Napa and Michael Chiarello's Napa: Casual Cooking over the next two years before moving to the Food Network to host Easy Entertaining in 2003. In 2004, Chiarello's latest show, NapaStyle, premiered on the Food Network's sister network Fine Living Network. Chiarello was included as a contestant on Top Chef Masters, winning his preliminary round and advancing to the championship round, placing second to Rick Bayless (first place). Reruns of Easy Entertaining now appear on Food Network's sister network Cooking Channel. In 2011, Chiarello appeared in the Visit California promotional film aimed at boosting tourism from the UK. | Chiarello has been married since 2003 to his wife Eileen, with whom he has one son, Aidan, born in 2005. He has three daughters, Margaux, Felicia, and Giana from his previous marriage. | Born to an Italian-American family, Chiarello rose to prominence at a young age. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in 1982, he studied hospitality management at Florida International University, receiving his Bachelor's degree in 1984. The next year, he opened The Grand Bay Hotel in Coconut Grove, Florida, and Toby's Bar and Grill. He was honored as 1985's Chef of the Year by Food & Wine Magazine. Later in the 1980s, Chiarello moved back to his home state of California, making his home in the Napa Valley. One of his first endeavors was chef at The Heritage Restaurant in Turlock which failed and went bankrupt. He opened the Tra Vigne restaurant, creating a menu influenced by the cuisine of his family's native Calabria and rife with local seasonal ingredients. He has since served as executive chef in numerous American restaurants including Caffe Museo in San Francisco, Ajax Tavern and Bump's in Aspen, Colorado, and Bistecca in Scottsdale, Arizona.His first cooking show, Season by Season, debuted on PBS in 2001. He hosted two more series for PBS, Michael Chiarello's Napa and Michael Chiarello's Napa: Casual Cooking over the next two years before moving to the Food Network to host Easy Entertaining in 2003. In 2004, Chiarello's latest show, NapaStyle, premiered on the Food Network's sister network Fine Living Network. Chiarello was included as a contestant on Top Chef Masters, winning his preliminary round and advancing to the championship round, placing second to Rick Bayless (first place). Reruns of Easy Entertaining now appear on Food Network's sister network Cooking Channel. In 2011, Chiarello appeared in the Visit California promotional film aimed at boosting tourism from the UK.Chiarello has been married since 2003 to his wife Eileen, with whom he has one son, Aidan, born in 2005. He has three daughters, Margaux, Felicia, and Giana from his previous marriage. | chefs |
| 17 | 17 | Roy Choi | Roy | Choi | M | Choi gained experience as a journeyman hotel chef since the mid-1990s. In 2001, he started working for Hilton Hotels. After being promoted within the company, in 2007, Choi became chef de cuisine at the Beverly Hilton. It was there that Choi met his future business partner, Mark Manguera. Choi also worked at the Embassy Suites in Sacramento and the Rock Sugar Pan Asian Kitchen in Los Angeles. After this classical training and years of background in four and five star cooking, Choi said that the shift to the food trucks, initially based on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice was great. Choi's company, Kogi, was founded in 2008 with partners Mark Manguera and his wife, Caroline Shin-Manguera. He was named one of the top ten "Best New Chefs" of 2010 by Food and Wine magazine, and is the first food truck operator to win that distinction. Choi currently runs Sunny Spot, in Venice, CA, which is Caribbean-inspired. He ran the Los Angeles-area restaurant Chego! which featured rice bowls, and A-Frame which conveyed the Hawaiian idea of aloha and was built in a former IHOP, in addition to Pot at the Line Hotel in Koreatown. In December, 2018, Choi opened a restaurant named Best Friend in Las Vegas, NV. His cooking style fuses Mexican and Korean flavors and dishes. In June 2013, Choi along with fellow chefs Wolfgang Puck and David Chang, convened at the Hotel Bel-Air to fuse different styles such as ggaejjang style and kochujang onto the Hotel Bel-Air menu. In November 2013, Choi released his autobiography that is part memoir part cookbook called L.A. Son: My Life, My City, My Food. Choi said he didn't start out to write a book, but that he kept getting asked the same questions about his food, its flavors, and how it is prepared. While Choi doesn't see the book as social commentary, he felt it was important to show the "real deal" of the duality he felt growing up as an immigrant in the 1970s; the foods served in the restaurant were quite different from what the family ate at home. The book also talks about the culture of Los… | Choi goes by the nicknames "Papi" and "El Guapo." He teaches cooking when he volunteers at A Place Called Home in South Los Angeles. Choi is a supporter of 3 Worlds Cafe, a South Central community coffee and smoothie shop that is a collaboration between Choi, the neighborhood-based Coalition for Responsible Community Development, fruit conglomerate Dole Packaged Foods and nearby Jefferson High School. He also maintains a blog on which he posts recipes and rants. During his difficult teen years and later as a young adult, Choi said he had many addictions. He was addicted to crack for a short time, marijuana and gambling, which lasted three years in his early 20s. Choi says that his current addiction is feeding people. Choi has a daughter. | Choi gained experience as a journeyman hotel chef since the mid-1990s. In 2001, he started working for Hilton Hotels. After being promoted within the company, in 2007, Choi became chef de cuisine at the Beverly Hilton. It was there that Choi met his future business partner, Mark Manguera. Choi also worked at the Embassy Suites in Sacramento and the Rock Sugar Pan Asian Kitchen in Los Angeles. After this classical training and years of background in four and five star cooking, Choi said that the shift to the food trucks, initially based on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice was great. Choi's company, Kogi, was founded in 2008 with partners Mark Manguera and his wife, Caroline Shin-Manguera. He was named one of the top ten "Best New Chefs" of 2010 by Food and Wine magazine, and is the first food truck operator to win that distinction. Choi currently runs Sunny Spot, in Venice, CA, which is Caribbean-inspired. He ran the Los Angeles-area restaurant Chego! which featured rice bowls, and A-Frame which conveyed the Hawaiian idea of aloha and was built in a former IHOP, in addition to Pot at the Line Hotel in Koreatown. In December, 2018, Choi opened a restaurant named Best Friend in Las Vegas, NV. His cooking style fuses Mexican and Korean flavors and dishes. In June 2013, Choi along with fellow chefs Wolfgang Puck and David Chang, convened at the Hotel Bel-Air to fuse different styles such as ggaejjang style and kochujang onto the Hotel Bel-Air menu. In November 2013, Choi released his autobiography that is part memoir part cookbook called L.A. Son: My Life, My City, My Food. Choi said he didn't start out to write a book, but that he kept getting asked the same questions about his food, its flavors, and how it is prepared. While Choi doesn't see the book as social commentary, he felt it was important to show the "real deal" of the duality he felt growing up as an immigrant in the 1970s; the foods served in the restaurant were quite different from what the family ate at home. The book also talks about the culture of Los… | chefs |
| 18 | 18 | Patrick Clark | Patrick | M | In 1988, he opened his own restaurant, Metro, on the Upper East Side. It closed in 1990 and he went to work at Bice in Beverly Hills. He soon returned to the east coast, taking over the kitchen at the Hay–Adams Hotel. In 1995, he returned to New York City to become Executive chef at Tavern on the Green. | In 1979, he married Lynette. The couple had five children: two sons, Preston and Cameron, and three daughters, Aleia, Ashley, and Brooke. Preston is also an award-winning chef. At the time of his death, he and his family were living in Plainsboro, New Jersey. Clark died due to amyloidosis on February 11, 1998 in Princeton, New Jersey at the age of 42. Before his death, Clark, suffering from a rare blood disease amyloidosis and in need of a cure, had been admitted to the Princeton Medical Center. His wife and their five children survived him. | In 1988, he opened his own restaurant, Metro, on the Upper East Side. It closed in 1990 and he went to work at Bice in Beverly Hills. He soon returned to the east coast, taking over the kitchen at the Hay–Adams Hotel. In 1995, he returned to New York City to become Executive chef at Tavern on the Green.In 1979, he married Lynette. The couple had five children: two sons, Preston and Cameron, and three daughters, Aleia, Ashley, and Brooke. Preston is also an award-winning chef. At the time of his death, he and his family were living in Plainsboro, New Jersey. Clark died due to amyloidosis on February 11, 1998 in Princeton, New Jersey at the age of 42. Before his death, Clark, suffering from a rare blood disease amyloidosis and in need of a cure, had been admitted to the Princeton Medical Center. His wife and their five children survived him. | chefs | |
| 19 | 19 | Tom Colicchio | Tom | Colicchio | M | In the mid-1980s, Colicchio served as a sous-chef to Thomas Keller at Rakel. In July 1994, Colicchio and his partner Danny Meyer opened the Gramercy Tavern in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan. It was voted Most Popular Restaurant in New York City by the Zagat Survey in 2003 and 2005. He sold his interest in 2006 and is no longer affiliated with the restaurant. In spring 2001, he opened the first Craft restaurant one block south of Gramercy Tavern. A year later, he opened the first Craftsteak at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. In 2003, he began the first 'wichcraft, his sandwich shop. In 2010, he opened Colicchio & Sons, and also Riverpark. Shortly after the September 11 attacks, Colicchio joined volunteers serving food to rescue workers at Ground Zero. Colicchio won the 2010 Outstanding Chef award from the James Beard Foundation. Colicchio has written three cookbooks. He, Jeff Bridges, and Raj Patel appeared in the documentary film A Place at the Table released in the U.S. on March 1, 2013. The movie was directed by his wife Lori Silverbush. He is also Executive Producer of A Place At The Table. Colicchio serves on the Food Council at City Harvest and the Culinary Council at Food Bank for New York City, two hunger-relief organizations. Colicchio has been involved with Top Chef since its beginning in 2006, where he has served as head judge. He is also the main consulting producer on Bravo's Top Chef spin-off series entitled Top Chef Masters. He also won an Emmy Award in 2010 for Outstanding Reality-Competition Programming as an executive producer of Top Chef, on which he appears. Colicchio was the host of the reality series Best New Restaurant (an adaptation of the British reality show Ramsay's Best Restaurant) in 2015. Colicchio appeared in the fifth episode of the first season of HBO's Treme as himself along with fellow chefs Eric Ripert, David Chang and Wylie Dufresne. He made another cameo in Season 2 alongside Ripert. In 2011, he made cameos in the Season 23 premiere episode of The Simpsons, "The Falco… | He has been married to filmmaker Lori Silverbush since 2001.He has three sons: Dante (born 1993), his child with an ex-girlfriend, and his two children with Silverbush, Luka Bodhi (born 2009) and Mateo Lev (born 2011). | In the mid-1980s, Colicchio served as a sous-chef to Thomas Keller at Rakel. In July 1994, Colicchio and his partner Danny Meyer opened the Gramercy Tavern in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan. It was voted Most Popular Restaurant in New York City by the Zagat Survey in 2003 and 2005. He sold his interest in 2006 and is no longer affiliated with the restaurant. In spring 2001, he opened the first Craft restaurant one block south of Gramercy Tavern. A year later, he opened the first Craftsteak at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. In 2003, he began the first 'wichcraft, his sandwich shop. In 2010, he opened Colicchio & Sons, and also Riverpark. Shortly after the September 11 attacks, Colicchio joined volunteers serving food to rescue workers at Ground Zero. Colicchio won the 2010 Outstanding Chef award from the James Beard Foundation. Colicchio has written three cookbooks. He, Jeff Bridges, and Raj Patel appeared in the documentary film A Place at the Table released in the U.S. on March 1, 2013. The movie was directed by his wife Lori Silverbush. He is also Executive Producer of A Place At The Table. Colicchio serves on the Food Council at City Harvest and the Culinary Council at Food Bank for New York City, two hunger-relief organizations. Colicchio has been involved with Top Chef since its beginning in 2006, where he has served as head judge. He is also the main consulting producer on Bravo's Top Chef spin-off series entitled Top Chef Masters. He also won an Emmy Award in 2010 for Outstanding Reality-Competition Programming as an executive producer of Top Chef, on which he appears. Colicchio was the host of the reality series Best New Restaurant (an adaptation of the British reality show Ramsay's Best Restaurant) in 2015. Colicchio appeared in the fifth episode of the first season of HBO's Treme as himself along with fellow chefs Eric Ripert, David Chang and Wylie Dufresne. He made another cameo in Season 2 alongside Ripert. In 2011, he made cameos in the Season 23 premiere episode of The Simpsons, "The Falco… | chefs |
| 20 | 20 | Juan-Carlos Cruz | Juan-Carlos | Cruz | M | After graduation from the Culinary Academy in 1993, Cruz joined Hotel Bel Air as a pastry sous-chef. While at the Bel Air he created pastries for celebrities such as Jack Nicholson, Oprah Winfrey and Julia Roberts. Cruz struggled with weight gain due to his work with pastries. In 2000, he appeared on the Discovery Health Channel program "Discovery Health Body Challenge" and lost 43 pounds. He called himself the "Calorie Commando" and began focusing on low calorie cooking. In 2004, he began starring in the Food Network show named after his nickname, "Calorie Commando." The following year, 2005, he began hosting Food Network's "Weighing In." As a result, he published a cookbook, "The Juan-Carlos Cruz Calorie Countdown Cookbook," in 2006. | Cruz was married to Jennifer Campbell, who he met in high school. On Thursday, May 13, 2010, Cruz was arrested in Santa Monica, California at Cheviot Hills Park on suspicion of murder for hire after three homeless individuals reported Cruz soliciting them to kill his wife, Jennifer Campbell. Cruz had asked the men to slit Campbell's throat or to strangle her for $1,000 and gave one of the men, Big Dave, the security code to Cruz's apartment so he could kill Campbell. He was held on a $5 million bail, which was eventually lowered to $2 million. Cruz's motivation to have Campbell killed stemmed from the couple's struggle to have a child due to fertility issues. The couple spent over $200,000 on fertility treatments, resulting in Campbell struggling with depression. Cruz believed having Campbell killed would be a "merciful" way to help her end her life. Cruz was charged with murder for hire and attempted murder. On December 13, 2010, Cruz pleaded "no contest" to murder for hire and the attempted murder count was dropped. As a result of a plea agreement, Cruz was ordered to pay $1,870 in restitution and to serve nine years in prison. | After graduation from the Culinary Academy in 1993, Cruz joined Hotel Bel Air as a pastry sous-chef. While at the Bel Air he created pastries for celebrities such as Jack Nicholson, Oprah Winfrey and Julia Roberts. Cruz struggled with weight gain due to his work with pastries. In 2000, he appeared on the Discovery Health Channel program "Discovery Health Body Challenge" and lost 43 pounds. He called himself the "Calorie Commando" and began focusing on low calorie cooking. In 2004, he began starring in the Food Network show named after his nickname, "Calorie Commando." The following year, 2005, he began hosting Food Network's "Weighing In." As a result, he published a cookbook, "The Juan-Carlos Cruz Calorie Countdown Cookbook," in 2006.Cruz was married to Jennifer Campbell, who he met in high school. On Thursday, May 13, 2010, Cruz was arrested in Santa Monica, California at Cheviot Hills Park on suspicion of murder for hire after three homeless individuals reported Cruz soliciting them to kill his wife, Jennifer Campbell. Cruz had asked the men to slit Campbell's throat or to strangle her for $1,000 and gave one of the men, Big Dave, the security code to Cruz's apartment so he could kill Campbell. He was held on a $5 million bail, which was eventually lowered to $2 million. Cruz's motivation to have Campbell killed stemmed from the couple's struggle to have a child due to fertility issues. The couple spent over $200,000 on fertility treatments, resulting in Campbell struggling with depression. Cruz believed having Campbell killed would be a "merciful" way to help her end her life. Cruz was charged with murder for hire and attempted murder. On December 13, 2010, Cruz pleaded "no contest" to murder for hire and the attempted murder count was dropped. As a result of a plea agreement, Cruz was ordered to pay $1,870 in restitution and to serve nine years in prison. | chefs |
| 21 | 21 | Robert Danhi | Robert | Danhi | M | In 2005, Danhi founded Chef Danhi & Co Inc., a consulting firm based in Los Angeles, focusing on menu and product research and development, sales and marketing support, and educational and training programs. Danhi is also a frequent presenter for Research Chefs Association, Institute of Food Technologist, Specialty Food Association, Produce Marketing Association, Worlds of Flavors, The Flavor Experience, International Association of Culinary Professionals, National Restaurant Association, National Association of Colleges and Universities, and the Restaurant Leadership Conference. In 2008, Robert published Southeast Asian Flavors—Adventures in Cooking the Foods of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, & Singapore; and Easy Thai Cooking – 75 Family-Style Dishes You Can Prepare at Home in Minutes in 2012. Robert has hosted Taste of Vietnam. a 26-episode TV show exploring the undiscovered provinces of Vietnam, broadcast nationally in Vietnam on HTV7 in 2014. Robert is also one of the main judges of Top Chef Vietnam (Đầu Bếp Đỉnh)- Season 1. | Danhi is currently living in El Segundo, Los Angeles with his Malaysian wife, Esther Danhi. | In 2005, Danhi founded Chef Danhi & Co Inc., a consulting firm based in Los Angeles, focusing on menu and product research and development, sales and marketing support, and educational and training programs. Danhi is also a frequent presenter for Research Chefs Association, Institute of Food Technologist, Specialty Food Association, Produce Marketing Association, Worlds of Flavors, The Flavor Experience, International Association of Culinary Professionals, National Restaurant Association, National Association of Colleges and Universities, and the Restaurant Leadership Conference. In 2008, Robert published Southeast Asian Flavors—Adventures in Cooking the Foods of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, & Singapore; and Easy Thai Cooking – 75 Family-Style Dishes You Can Prepare at Home in Minutes in 2012. Robert has hosted Taste of Vietnam. a 26-episode TV show exploring the undiscovered provinces of Vietnam, broadcast nationally in Vietnam on HTV7 in 2014. Robert is also one of the main judges of Top Chef Vietnam (Đầu Bếp Đỉnh)- Season 1.Danhi is currently living in El Segundo, Los Angeles with his Malaysian wife, Esther Danhi. | chefs |
| 22 | 22 | Jean-Robert de Cavel | Jean-Robert | Cavel | M | De Cavel worked in Zermatt, Antibes, the British West Indies, and New York City before moving to Cincinnati in 1993 to become Chef de cuisine at The Maisonette, which earned 5 stars from Mobil during his time there. He left in 2002 to join a partnership to run his own restaurants Jean-Robert at Pigall's, which became Ohio's only Mobil four-star restaurant. With his partners he went on to open JeanRo Bistro, Pho Paris, Greenup Cafe, Twist, and Lavomatic Cafe, all located in the greater Cincinnati area. In 2009 he left the partnership to start Jean-Robert's Table in 2010, French Crust in 2011, Le Bar a Boeuf in 2014 and Eat at Jean-Bob's in 2015, and Restaurant L and Frenchie Fresh in 2016. He has been called "arguably the most recognizable chef in town" and "one of the region's most well-known chefs". Since 2009 he has been chef-in-residence at the Midwest Culinary Institute. De Cavel has four times been a semifinalist for the James Beard Best Chef in the Great Lakes Region, in 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2013. He has received three James Beard nominations for Best Chef in the Midwest in 2000, 2001, and 2006 and has been invited to cook at the foundation's Greenwich Village headquarters, six times. During his tenure The Maisonette received five stars from Mobil. Jean-Robert at Pigall's received four stars from Mobil and was recognized by Relais & Châteaux. In 2007 he was named a Master Chef by Maîtres Cuisiniers de France. | De Cavel was born in Roubaix, France. He was educated at Le Feguide culinary school in Lille, France. He and his wife Annette Pfund de Cavel live in Newport, Kentucky with their daughter Laeticia. De Cavel was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leiomyosarcoma in May 2018. | De Cavel was born in Roubaix, France. He was educated at Le Feguide culinary school in Lille, France. He and his wife Annette Pfund de Cavel live in Newport, Kentucky with their daughter Laeticia. De Cavel was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leiomyosarcoma in May 2018.De Cavel worked in Zermatt, Antibes, the British West Indies, and New York City before moving to Cincinnati in 1993 to become Chef de cuisine at The Maisonette, which earned 5 stars from Mobil during his time there. He left in 2002 to join a partnership to run his own restaurants Jean-Robert at Pigall's, which became Ohio's only Mobil four-star restaurant. With his partners he went on to open JeanRo Bistro, Pho Paris, Greenup Cafe, Twist, and Lavomatic Cafe, all located in the greater Cincinnati area. In 2009 he left the partnership to start Jean-Robert's Table in 2010, French Crust in 2011, Le Bar a Boeuf in 2014 and Eat at Jean-Bob's in 2015, and Restaurant L and Frenchie Fresh in 2016. He has been called "arguably the most recognizable chef in town" and "one of the region's most well-known chefs". Since 2009 he has been chef-in-residence at the Midwest Culinary Institute. De Cavel has four times been a semifinalist for the James Beard Best Chef in the Great Lakes Region, in 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2013. He has received three James Beard nominations for Best Chef in the Midwest in 2000, 2001, and 2006 and has been invited to cook at the foundation's Greenwich Village headquarters, six times. During his tenure The Maisonette received five stars from Mobil. Jean-Robert at Pigall's received four stars from Mobil and was recognized by Relais & Châteaux. In 2007 he was named a Master Chef by Maîtres Cuisiniers de France. | chefs |
| 23 | 23 | Richard Deacon | Richard | M | Deacon often portrayed pompous, prissy, and/or imperious figures in film and television. He made appearances on The Jack Benny Program as a salesman and a barber, and on NBC's Happy as a hotel manager. He made a brief appearance in Alfred Hitchcock's film The Birds (1963). He played a larger role in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) as a physician in the "book-end" sequences added to the beginning and end of the film after its original previews. In Billy Wilder's 1957 film adaptation of Charles Lindbergh’s The Spirit of St. Louis, Deacon portrayed the chairman of the Columbia Aircraft Corporation, Charles A. Levine. His best-known roles are milksop Mel Cooley (producer of The Alan Brady Show) on CBS's The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–1966) and Fred Rutherford on Leave It to Beaver (1957–1963), although Deacon played Mr. Baxter in the 1957 Beaver pilot episode "It's a Small World". He co-starred as Tallulah Bankhead's butler in an episode of The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour called "The Celebrity Next Door". Deacon played Roger Buell on the second season of TV's The Mothers-in-Law (1967–1969), replacing Roger C. Carmel in the role. He played Principal "Jazzbo" Conroy in The Danny Thomas Show (1958). He also appeared in the 1960 Perry Mason episode The Case of the Red Riding Boots as Wilmer Beaslee. In Carousel (1956), the film adaptation of the Rodgers & Hammerstein stage musical, Deacon had a bit role as the policeman who admonishes Julie and Mr. Bascombe about Billy Bigelow in the "bench scene". It was one of the few films in which he did not wear glasses, as were his roles in Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955), and the 1954 costumer Désirée, where he played Jean Simmons' elder brother, an 18th-century Marseilles silk merchant. Philadelphia native Deacon played the role of Morton Stearnes' butler, George Archibald, whose courtroom testimony is a turning point in The Young Philadelphians (1959), starring Paul Newman. He played an imbibing justice of the peace, Reverend Zaron, in the classic 1957 Budd Boetticher w… | Although he was born in Philadelphia, he and his family later moved to Binghamton, New York, living on the west side of that city. He attended West Junior High and Binghamton Central High School, where he met fellow Binghamton resident Rod Serling. During World War II, Deacon served in the United States Army medical corps. In 1946, upon completion of his service, he returned to Binghamton where he resumed living with his parents. He worked in occupations such as laboratory technician and intern at Binghamton General Hospital. He later attended Ithaca College, first as a medical student, but later developed an interest in acting, engaging in some nighttime radio announcing. Deacon was a gourmet chef in addition to working as an actor. In the 1970s and 1980s, he wrote a series of cookbooks and hosted a Canadian television series on microwave oven cooking. While not widely known during Deacon's lifetime, he was a charitable man. At his memorial service, a number of people previously unknown to Deacon's friends and colleagues spoke of how Deacon had provided for needy people and charitable organizations during his life. Deacon never married. According to academic writers David L. Smith and Sean Griffin, Deacon was gay, and was among "a number of actors and actresses who were closeted homosexuals" working in Hollywood and often employed in Disney films. His obituary, published in The New York Times, listed only his father, a nephew and niece as survivors." | Deacon often portrayed pompous, prissy, and/or imperious figures in film and television. He made appearances on The Jack Benny Program as a salesman and a barber, and on NBC's Happy as a hotel manager. He made a brief appearance in Alfred Hitchcock's film The Birds (1963). He played a larger role in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) as a physician in the "book-end" sequences added to the beginning and end of the film after its original previews. In Billy Wilder's 1957 film adaptation of Charles Lindbergh’s The Spirit of St. Louis, Deacon portrayed the chairman of the Columbia Aircraft Corporation, Charles A. Levine. His best-known roles are milksop Mel Cooley (producer of The Alan Brady Show) on CBS's The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961–1966) and Fred Rutherford on Leave It to Beaver (1957–1963), although Deacon played Mr. Baxter in the 1957 Beaver pilot episode "It's a Small World". He co-starred as Tallulah Bankhead's butler in an episode of The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour called "The Celebrity Next Door". Deacon played Roger Buell on the second season of TV's The Mothers-in-Law (1967–1969), replacing Roger C. Carmel in the role. He played Principal "Jazzbo" Conroy in The Danny Thomas Show (1958). He also appeared in the 1960 Perry Mason episode The Case of the Red Riding Boots as Wilmer Beaslee. In Carousel (1956), the film adaptation of the Rodgers & Hammerstein stage musical, Deacon had a bit role as the policeman who admonishes Julie and Mr. Bascombe about Billy Bigelow in the "bench scene". It was one of the few films in which he did not wear glasses, as were his roles in Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955), and the 1954 costumer Désirée, where he played Jean Simmons' elder brother, an 18th-century Marseilles silk merchant. Philadelphia native Deacon played the role of Morton Stearnes' butler, George Archibald, whose courtroom testimony is a turning point in The Young Philadelphians (1959), starring Paul Newman. He played an imbibing justice of the peace, Reverend Zaron, in the classic 1957 Budd Boetticher w… | chefs | |
| 24 | 24 | Bobby Deen | Bobby | Deen | M | Deen and his brother had their own show, Road Tasted, starting July 11, 2006. The Deen brothers eventually decided that they wanted to devote more time to their family restaurant, and thus did not continue on as hosts of Road Tasted. The original show has since been changed into Road Tasted with the Neelys featuring Food Network hosts Pat Neely and Gina Neely. In January 2012, he debuted his own cooking show, Not My Mama's Meals, on the Cooking Channel, in which he tweaks his mother's recipes to recreate them in a healthier manner. Deen also served as the host of the Food Network cooking competition series Holiday Baking Championship and Spring Baking Championship. He is also co-host of the Cooking Channel series Junk Food Flip. Deen has published several books, 4 of which are in collaboration with his brother. These include; The Deen Bros. Cookbook - Recipes From the Road (2007), Y'all Come Eat (2008), Take it Easy (2009) and Get Fired up (2011). In early 2013 he released his first solo book and a No. 1 New York Times Best Seller, From Mama's Table to Mine. In April 2015, Bobby and his brother Jamie began filming the TV show Southern Fried Road Trip for the Food Network, "in search of the best local, handcrafted foods". Deen made his feature film debut in 2017, appearing in the movie, In Search of Liberty. | Bobby announced his engagement to Claudia Lovera on April 24, 2013 and discussed the event on the Fox News morning show, Fox & Friends. In July 2013, he and Lovera married at a ceremony at his mother Paula Deen's house. On October 23, 2018, Paula Deen announced on her Facebook page that on Tuesday, October 16, 2018, Claudia gave birth to triplets, 2 girls and 1 boy, at 26 weeks and 4 days. The children were named Olivia Maria, Amelia Ann, and Linton. Olivia was named after Claudia's mother, Maria. Amelia Ann was named after Paula Ann Deen, Bobby's mother. Linton was a fourth generation family name. Linton and Olivia were born at 1 lb, 12 ounces and Amelia at 2 lbs. It was anticipated they would be hospitalized for 3 months and come home in January 2019. | Bobby announced his engagement to Claudia Lovera on April 24, 2013 and discussed the event on the Fox News morning show, Fox & Friends. In July 2013, he and Lovera married at a ceremony at his mother Paula Deen's house. On October 23, 2018, Paula Deen announced on her Facebook page that on Tuesday, October 16, 2018, Claudia gave birth to triplets, 2 girls and 1 boy, at 26 weeks and 4 days. The children were named Olivia Maria, Amelia Ann, and Linton. Olivia was named after Claudia's mother, Maria. Amelia Ann was named after Paula Ann Deen, Bobby's mother. Linton was a fourth generation family name. Linton and Olivia were born at 1 lb, 12 ounces and Amelia at 2 lbs. It was anticipated they would be hospitalized for 3 months and come home in January 2019.Deen and his brother had their own show, Road Tasted, starting July 11, 2006. The Deen brothers eventually decided that they wanted to devote more time to their family restaurant, and thus did not continue on as hosts of Road Tasted. The original show has since been changed into Road Tasted with the Neelys featuring Food Network hosts Pat Neely and Gina Neely. In January 2012, he debuted his own cooking show, Not My Mama's Meals, on the Cooking Channel, in which he tweaks his mother's recipes to recreate them in a healthier manner. Deen also served as the host of the Food Network cooking competition series Holiday Baking Championship and Spring Baking Championship. He is also co-host of the Cooking Channel series Junk Food Flip. Deen has published several books, 4 of which are in collaboration with his brother. These include; The Deen Bros. Cookbook - Recipes From the Road (2007), Y'all Come Eat (2008), Take it Easy (2009) and Get Fired up (2011). In early 2013 he released his first solo book and a No. 1 New York Times Best Seller, From Mama's Table to Mine. In April 2015, Bobby and his brother Jamie began filming the TV show Southern Fried Road Trip for the Food Network, "in search of the best local, handcrafted foods". Deen made his feature film debut in 2017… | chefs |
| 25 | 25 | Harold Dieterle | Harold | Dieterle | M | Dieterle's professional career began at Della Femina in the Hamptons for two years. That was followed by three years at Red Bar and two years at 1770 House, both in New York City. For almost five years, he was a sous-chef at The Harrison restaurant in New York. In October 2005, Dieterle competed in and won the first season of Top Chef. Following his win on the series, he left The Harrison in early 2006 to plan the opening of his own restaurant. His first restaurant, Perilla, opened in May 2007 in New York City. In 2010 he opened Kin Shop, a Thai restaurant. In a positive 2010 review of Kin Shop in the magazine New York, food critic Adam Platt called Dieterle "the original (and easily most talented) winner" of Top Chef. In 2012, he opened The Marrow in New York City, which featured a mashup of Italian and German cuisine that was an ode to Dieterle's German heritage, and his wife's Italian heritage. The Marrow closed its doors in 2014 after less than two years. In late 2015, Dieterle closed his two remaining restaurants, Kin Shop and Perilla. Dieterle said he was taking a leave from the restaurant and hospitality business. In 2019 he opened a new restaurant in Williamsburg. In 2016 Dieterle served as a consultant for the AMC TV series Feed the Beast, set at a fictional restaurant. | On September 4, 2010, Dieterle married Meredith Davies in Atlanta, Georgia. They met at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado, in 2006, the summer after his winning season on Top Chef. | Dieterle's professional career began at Della Femina in the Hamptons for two years. That was followed by three years at Red Bar and two years at 1770 House, both in New York City. For almost five years, he was a sous-chef at The Harrison restaurant in New York. In October 2005, Dieterle competed in and won the first season of Top Chef. Following his win on the series, he left The Harrison in early 2006 to plan the opening of his own restaurant. His first restaurant, Perilla, opened in May 2007 in New York City. In 2010 he opened Kin Shop, a Thai restaurant. In a positive 2010 review of Kin Shop in the magazine New York, food critic Adam Platt called Dieterle "the original (and easily most talented) winner" of Top Chef. In 2012, he opened The Marrow in New York City, which featured a mashup of Italian and German cuisine that was an ode to Dieterle's German heritage, and his wife's Italian heritage. The Marrow closed its doors in 2014 after less than two years. In late 2015, Dieterle closed his two remaining restaurants, Kin Shop and Perilla. Dieterle said he was taking a leave from the restaurant and hospitality business. In 2019 he opened a new restaurant in Williamsburg. In 2016 Dieterle served as a consultant for the AMC TV series Feed the Beast, set at a fictional restaurant.On September 4, 2010, Dieterle married Meredith Davies in Atlanta, Georgia. They met at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado, in 2006, the summer after his winning season on Top Chef. | chefs |
| 26 | 26 | Graham Elliot | Graham | Elliot | M | In 2004 Elliot was named to Food & Wine’s "Best New Chefs" list, and he became the youngest chef in the States to receive four stars from a major publication (Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times) before the age of 30. At the age of 27 he was the youngest Four Star Chef to be named in any city, also earning himself a spot on Crain's Chicago Business list of "40 Under Forty", putting him in an elite club that included luminaries such as President Barack Obama, for whom Elliot had the privilege of cooking on the President's 49th birthday. In May 2008, he opened his eponymous restaurant, which was the first French casual fine dining restaurant in Chicago. In 2009, Elliot appeared on the TV show Top Chef Masters. In the show, he cooked for The Heart and Stroke Foundation, a charity with which he became associated as a result of his nephew's need for a heart transplant. In 2010, the series MasterChef premiered, with Elliot as one of the three judges. In 2013, the series spun off a child version of the program, MasterChef Junior, on which Elliot also was featured as a judge. He left the franchise in September 2015, following the completion of season 6 of the parent program. In 2016, he became a judge on Top Chef. | Graham resides in Morgan Park on the south side of Chicago with his wife/business partner Allie Elliot, and his three children, Mylo Ignatius, Conrad Matthias and Jedediah Lindsay. Elliot sings and plays guitar. In 2013, Elliot underwent weight loss surgery and took up jogging, losing 150 pounds, reducing his weight to 250 pounds, explaining the decision as a response to becoming a father. | In 2004 Elliot was named to Food & Wine’s "Best New Chefs" list, and he became the youngest chef in the States to receive four stars from a major publication (Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times) before the age of 30. At the age of 27 he was the youngest Four Star Chef to be named in any city, also earning himself a spot on Crain's Chicago Business list of "40 Under Forty", putting him in an elite club that included luminaries such as President Barack Obama, for whom Elliot had the privilege of cooking on the President's 49th birthday. In May 2008, he opened his eponymous restaurant, which was the first French casual fine dining restaurant in Chicago. In 2009, Elliot appeared on the TV show Top Chef Masters. In the show, he cooked for The Heart and Stroke Foundation, a charity with which he became associated as a result of his nephew's need for a heart transplant. In 2010, the series MasterChef premiered, with Elliot as one of the three judges. In 2013, the series spun off a child version of the program, MasterChef Junior, on which Elliot also was featured as a judge. He left the franchise in September 2015, following the completion of season 6 of the parent program. In 2016, he became a judge on Top Chef.Graham resides in Morgan Park on the south side of Chicago with his wife/business partner Allie Elliot, and his three children, Mylo Ignatius, Conrad Matthias and Jedediah Lindsay. Elliot sings and plays guitar. In 2013, Elliot underwent weight loss surgery and took up jogging, losing 150 pounds, reducing his weight to 250 pounds, explaining the decision as a response to becoming a father. | chefs |
| 27 | 27 | Todd English | Todd | English | M | English was born in Amarillo, Texas, grew up in Sandy Springs, Georgia and later Branford, Connecticut. He matriculated at Guilford College in North Carolina on a baseball scholarship, but quit and entered the Culinary Institute of America in 1978 and graduated in 1982. He worked under Jean-Jacques Rachou at New York's La Cote Basque, and then moved to Italy to work at several restaurants there. He returned to the United States at age 25 and served as the executive chef of the Italian restaurant Michela's in Cambridge, Massachusetts for three years before opening the original Olives restaurant in 1989. | English has been married once, to Olivia Disch English, his classmate at the Culinary Institute of America, but they divorced; the couple has three children. He was engaged to Erica Wang in 2009 but the wedding was called off. | English was born in Amarillo, Texas, grew up in Sandy Springs, Georgia and later Branford, Connecticut. He matriculated at Guilford College in North Carolina on a baseball scholarship, but quit and entered the Culinary Institute of America in 1978 and graduated in 1982. He worked under Jean-Jacques Rachou at New York's La Cote Basque, and then moved to Italy to work at several restaurants there. He returned to the United States at age 25 and served as the executive chef of the Italian restaurant Michela's in Cambridge, Massachusetts for three years before opening the original Olives restaurant in 1989.English has been married once, to Olivia Disch English, his classmate at the Culinary Institute of America, but they divorced; the couple has three children. He was engaged to Erica Wang in 2009 but the wedding was called off. | chefs |
| 28 | 28 | Guy Fieri | Guy | Fieri | M | Fieri began his association with food in grade school in Ferndale, by selling pretzels from his "Awesome Pretzel" cart and washing dishes to finance his trip to France to study. On his return to the United States, he worked at the restaurant at the Red Lion Inn in Eureka, California, until he went to Las Vegas for college. Fieri attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Hotel Management in 1990. Soon after graduation, he went to work for Stouffer's, as manager of a Long Beach, California, restaurant called Parker's Lighthouse. After three years in southern California, he became district manager of Louise's Trattoria, managing six locations along with recruiting and training for the restaurants. In late 1996, Fieri and business partner Steve Gruber opened Johnny Garlic's, a "California Pasta Grill" in Santa Rosa, California. A second location opened in Windsor in 1999, a third in Petaluma in 2000 or 2001 (since closed), and a fourth in Roseville in late 2008. Subsequently, they developed Tex Wasabi's (barbecue and sushi) in 2003 in Santa Rosa, adding a second location in Sacramento's Arden-Arcade area in 2007 (which was rebranded as Johnny Garlic's, and then subsequently closed). An additional Johnny Garlic's was opened in Dublin, California, in 2011. His first New York City restaurant, Guy's American Kitchen and Bar, opened in 2012 to brutal New York Times coverage by Pete Wells that Larry Olmsted of Forbes called "the most scathing review in the history of the New York Times", and "likely the most widely read restaurant review ever." Fieri, for his part, accused Wells, the nation's highest profile reviewer, of using Fieri's fame as a platform for advancing his own prestige. Despite appearing on Restaurant Business's list of the top 100 independent restaurants as ranked by sales for four years in a row, the restaurant announced plans to close at the end of 2017. In 2011, Fieri partnered with Carnival Cruise lines to create Guy's Burger Joint to sell Fieri's burgers… | Fieri met his wife Lori when she came into a restaurant he was managing in Long Beach, California. The couple married in 1995. When Fieri got married, he changed his surname from Ferry to Fieri as an ode to his paternal grandfather, Giuseppe Fieri, an Italian immigrant who had Anglicized his surname to Ferry upon his arrival in the United States. They live in Santa Rosa, California, with their sons, Hunter and Ryder. He collects classic American cars, including a 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle, a 1968 Pontiac Firebird, a 1976 Jeep CJ-5, a 1969 Chevrolet Impala SS, and a 1967 Chevrolet C10 pickup. | Fieri began his association with food in grade school in Ferndale, by selling pretzels from his "Awesome Pretzel" cart and washing dishes to finance his trip to France to study. On his return to the United States, he worked at the restaurant at the Red Lion Inn in Eureka, California, until he went to Las Vegas for college. Fieri attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Hotel Management in 1990. Soon after graduation, he went to work for Stouffer's, as manager of a Long Beach, California, restaurant called Parker's Lighthouse. After three years in southern California, he became district manager of Louise's Trattoria, managing six locations along with recruiting and training for the restaurants. In late 1996, Fieri and business partner Steve Gruber opened Johnny Garlic's, a "California Pasta Grill" in Santa Rosa, California. A second location opened in Windsor in 1999, a third in Petaluma in 2000 or 2001 (since closed), and a fourth in Roseville in late 2008. Subsequently, they developed Tex Wasabi's (barbecue and sushi) in 2003 in Santa Rosa, adding a second location in Sacramento's Arden-Arcade area in 2007 (which was rebranded as Johnny Garlic's, and then subsequently closed). An additional Johnny Garlic's was opened in Dublin, California, in 2011. His first New York City restaurant, Guy's American Kitchen and Bar, opened in 2012 to brutal New York Times coverage by Pete Wells that Larry Olmsted of Forbes called "the most scathing review in the history of the New York Times", and "likely the most widely read restaurant review ever." Fieri, for his part, accused Wells, the nation's highest profile reviewer, of using Fieri's fame as a platform for advancing his own prestige. Despite appearing on Restaurant Business's list of the top 100 independent restaurants as ranked by sales for four years in a row, the restaurant announced plans to close at the end of 2017. In 2011, Fieri partnered with Carnival Cruise lines to create Guy's Burger Joint to sell Fieri's burgers… | chefs |
| 29 | 29 | Bobby Flay | Bobby | Flay | M | Flay dropped out of high school at age 17. He has said his first jobs in the restaurant industry were at a pizza parlor and Baskin-Robbins. He then took a position making salads at Joe Allen Restaurant in Manhattan's Theater District, where his father was a partner. The proprietor, Joe Allen, was impressed by Flay's natural ability and agreed to pay his partner's son's tuition at the French Culinary Institute. Flay received a degree in culinary arts and was a member of the first graduating class of the French Culinary Institute in 1984. After culinary school, he started working as a sous-chef, quickly learning the culinary arts. At the Brighton Grill on Third Avenue, Flay was handed the executive chef's position after a week when the executive chef was fired. Flay quit when he realized he was not ready to run a kitchen. He took a position as a chef working for restaurateur Jonathan Waxman at Bud and Jams. Waxman introduced Flay to southwestern and Cajun cuisine, which came to define his culinary career. After working for a short time on the floor at the American Stock Exchange, Flay returned to the kitchen as the executive chef at Miracle Grill in the East Village, where he worked from 1988 to 1990. He caught the attention of restaurateur Jerome Kretchmer, who was looking for a southwestern-style chef. Impressed by Flay's food, Kretchmer offered him the position of executive chef at Mesa Grill, which opened on January 15, 1991. Shortly after, he became a partner. In November 1993, Flay partnered with Laurence Kretchmer to open Bolo Bar & Restaurant in the Flatiron District, just a few blocks away from Mesa Grill. Flay opened a second Mesa Grill at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 2004, and in 2005 he opened Bar Americain, an American Brasserie, in Midtown Manhattan. He continued to expand his restaurants by opening Bobby Flay Steak in the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This was followed by a third Mesa Grill in the Bahamas, located in The Cove at Atlantis Paradise Island, which opened on M… | Flay married Debra Ponzek, also a chef, on May 11, 1991. Flay and Ponzek divorced in 1993, and Flay married his second wife, Kate Connelly, in 1995. They have a daughter named Sophie. Flay and Connelly separated in 1998, and later divorced. Flay married actress Stephanie March, on February 20, 2005. According to media reports, March and Flay separated in March 2015 and their divorce was finalized on July 17, 2015. Flay dated Heléne Yorke from February 2016 until early 2019. | Flay dropped out of high school at age 17. He has said his first jobs in the restaurant industry were at a pizza parlor and Baskin-Robbins. He then took a position making salads at Joe Allen Restaurant in Manhattan's Theater District, where his father was a partner. The proprietor, Joe Allen, was impressed by Flay's natural ability and agreed to pay his partner's son's tuition at the French Culinary Institute. Flay received a degree in culinary arts and was a member of the first graduating class of the French Culinary Institute in 1984. After culinary school, he started working as a sous-chef, quickly learning the culinary arts. At the Brighton Grill on Third Avenue, Flay was handed the executive chef's position after a week when the executive chef was fired. Flay quit when he realized he was not ready to run a kitchen. He took a position as a chef working for restaurateur Jonathan Waxman at Bud and Jams. Waxman introduced Flay to southwestern and Cajun cuisine, which came to define his culinary career. After working for a short time on the floor at the American Stock Exchange, Flay returned to the kitchen as the executive chef at Miracle Grill in the East Village, where he worked from 1988 to 1990. He caught the attention of restaurateur Jerome Kretchmer, who was looking for a southwestern-style chef. Impressed by Flay's food, Kretchmer offered him the position of executive chef at Mesa Grill, which opened on January 15, 1991. Shortly after, he became a partner. In November 1993, Flay partnered with Laurence Kretchmer to open Bolo Bar & Restaurant in the Flatiron District, just a few blocks away from Mesa Grill. Flay opened a second Mesa Grill at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 2004, and in 2005 he opened Bar Americain, an American Brasserie, in Midtown Manhattan. He continued to expand his restaurants by opening Bobby Flay Steak in the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This was followed by a third Mesa Grill in the Bahamas, located in The Cove at Atlantis Paradise Island, which opened on M… | chefs |
| 30 | 30 | Tyler Florence | Tyler | Florence | M | Florence was a presenter on Globe Trekker, hosted Food 911 and How to Boil Water, co-hosted Worst Cooks in America with Anne Burrell and currently hosts Tyler's Ultimate, The Great Food Truck Race, and Bite Club on the Food Network. Florence was a judge on Worst Cooks in America for seasons 6, 8, 12–13, and 15-present. Additionally in 2007, Florence and fellow chef Joey Altman co-hosted a celebrity chef cook-off to benefit Afterschool Alliance. Outside of his work as presenter, he was featured on the ABC TV show Shaq's Big Challenge, which aired on July 17, 2007 and Momma's Boys, a reality show produced by Ryan Seacrest. He has also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in a nationwide Sandwich Showdown. He has appeared a number of times on The Today Show, and was featured on The View in 2008. Florence serves on the board of the national nonprofit Afterschool Alliance, an organization that works to promote and to support quality after-school programs. In 2018, Florence directed a documentary about the 2017 California Wildfires called Uncrushable. It features first-person footage of first responders and interviews with those directly affected by the disaster. Florence also created a podcast called Wolf it Down where he interviewed several players in the food and tech space. In 1997 Florence worked as a chef at Restaurant 147 on West 15th Street, New York. In 2008, he developed a plan to open Bar Florence, in the Hotel Vertigo in San Francisco, California. In 2009 he opened a small chain of luxury kitchen supply stores in Northern California and developed three new restaurant concepts for the area: Wayfare Tavern in downtown San Francisco (formerly, Rubicon restaurant); Rotisserie & Wine, a fast food restaurant in downtown Napa; and with Sammy Hagar, El Paseo in downtown Mill Valley, California, an American tavern featuring ingredients only from Marin County. In 2008, Florence was named the Dean of Culinary Education at Copia, a now-defunct museum in Napa, California. | Florence married his wife Tolan Clark in 2006. Florence has 3 children. In 2007 Florence and his wife moved from New York City to Mill Valley, north of San Francisco, where in July 2008 Florence opened an eponymously named retail kitchen store. | Florence was a presenter on Globe Trekker, hosted Food 911 and How to Boil Water, co-hosted Worst Cooks in America with Anne Burrell and currently hosts Tyler's Ultimate, The Great Food Truck Race, and Bite Club on the Food Network. Florence was a judge on Worst Cooks in America for seasons 6, 8, 12–13, and 15-present. Additionally in 2007, Florence and fellow chef Joey Altman co-hosted a celebrity chef cook-off to benefit Afterschool Alliance. Outside of his work as presenter, he was featured on the ABC TV show Shaq's Big Challenge, which aired on July 17, 2007 and Momma's Boys, a reality show produced by Ryan Seacrest. He has also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in a nationwide Sandwich Showdown. He has appeared a number of times on The Today Show, and was featured on The View in 2008. Florence serves on the board of the national nonprofit Afterschool Alliance, an organization that works to promote and to support quality after-school programs. In 2018, Florence directed a documentary about the 2017 California Wildfires called Uncrushable. It features first-person footage of first responders and interviews with those directly affected by the disaster. Florence also created a podcast called Wolf it Down where he interviewed several players in the food and tech space. In 1997 Florence worked as a chef at Restaurant 147 on West 15th Street, New York. In 2008, he developed a plan to open Bar Florence, in the Hotel Vertigo in San Francisco, California. In 2009 he opened a small chain of luxury kitchen supply stores in Northern California and developed three new restaurant concepts for the area: Wayfare Tavern in downtown San Francisco (formerly, Rubicon restaurant); Rotisserie & Wine, a fast food restaurant in downtown Napa; and with Sammy Hagar, El Paseo in downtown Mill Valley, California, an American tavern featuring ingredients only from Marin County. In 2008, Florence was named the Dean of Culinary Education at Copia, a now-defunct museum in Napa, California.Florence married his wife Tolan Clark in 2006. Flo… | chefs |
| 31 | 31 | Eduardo Garcia | Eduardo | M | While in college, Garcia was offered a job as chef of a 107-foot yacht called Dorothea. He accepted and, upon graduation, spent two and half years aboard the ship. From there, he spent the next decade working as a chef on various private yachts. His job allowed him to travel the world, learning about different ethnic cuisines along the way. Garcia co-founded Montana Mex, a Mexican-inspired line of flavored salts, salsas and hot sauces, upon returning to Montana in 2010. He also began creating a cooking show to be called Active Ingredient. Garcia describes his food as fun, simple, exploratory, and always influenced by the local environment. On October 9, 2011, while bow-hunting elk in the Montana backcountry, Garcia came across the dry remains of a bear. Attempting to remove a claw with his knife, he received a severe electrical shock from a 2400-volt power line hidden underneath its carcass. He was knocked to the ground and severely burned. He remembers telling himself to get up, but after that his memory is incomplete - the next thing he remembers is walking on a road a mile away from the accident spot. By the time he found help, Garcia had walked three miles. "I was scared," he later recalled, "but I was set on learning how to survive". While in hospital, Garcia was also diagnosed with stage two testicular cancer. The cancer required him to put his surgeries on hold to undergo three months of chemotherapy. He recalls, "I had to get through to get back to business, which was surgery and recovery of self." Garcia was fitted with a simple prosthetic hook. Although he is right-handed, Garcia quickly found that he could not do everything he could before, but continued to work as a chef. He slowly re-learned basic tasks like chopping and dicing. In September 2013, Garcia was fitted with a bionic hand designed by Touch Bionics and fitted by Advanced Arm Dynamics. The new hand is controlled by Garcia's forearm muscles and is capable of gripping 25 different ways. It allows him to perform tasks requiring a g… | Garcia is an avid outdoorsman and hunter. He enjoys hiking, surfing, and skate boarding. He has volunteered with the Challenged Athletes Foundation and Common Threads, a program that teaches children in under privileged communities how to cook healthy meals. | While in college, Garcia was offered a job as chef of a 107-foot yacht called Dorothea. He accepted and, upon graduation, spent two and half years aboard the ship. From there, he spent the next decade working as a chef on various private yachts. His job allowed him to travel the world, learning about different ethnic cuisines along the way. Garcia co-founded Montana Mex, a Mexican-inspired line of flavored salts, salsas and hot sauces, upon returning to Montana in 2010. He also began creating a cooking show to be called Active Ingredient. Garcia describes his food as fun, simple, exploratory, and always influenced by the local environment. On October 9, 2011, while bow-hunting elk in the Montana backcountry, Garcia came across the dry remains of a bear. Attempting to remove a claw with his knife, he received a severe electrical shock from a 2400-volt power line hidden underneath its carcass. He was knocked to the ground and severely burned. He remembers telling himself to get up, but after that his memory is incomplete - the next thing he remembers is walking on a road a mile away from the accident spot. By the time he found help, Garcia had walked three miles. "I was scared," he later recalled, "but I was set on learning how to survive". While in hospital, Garcia was also diagnosed with stage two testicular cancer. The cancer required him to put his surgeries on hold to undergo three months of chemotherapy. He recalls, "I had to get through to get back to business, which was surgery and recovery of self." Garcia was fitted with a simple prosthetic hook. Although he is right-handed, Garcia quickly found that he could not do everything he could before, but continued to work as a chef. He slowly re-learned basic tasks like chopping and dicing. In September 2013, Garcia was fitted with a bionic hand designed by Touch Bionics and fitted by Advanced Arm Dynamics. The new hand is controlled by Garcia's forearm muscles and is capable of gripping 25 different ways. It allows him to perform tasks requiring a g… | chefs | |
| 32 | 32 | Andrew Gruel | Andrew | Gruel | M | Gruel began his career working in fine dining restaurants, hotels and diners in New Jersey, as a cook at the Ritz Carlton in Boston and at Jack's of New London in New London, New Hampshire. He left the East Coast in 2009 to work as director of Seafood for the Future, a nonprofit program at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California. Gruel's first television appearance was on the BBC show The Endless Feast in 2007. He served as a judge on the Food Channel's Food Truck Face Off in 2014, and also appeared on Eat St. on the Cooking Channel, Today on NBC, and On the Rocks on the Food Network. In 2015, Gruel starred as a host on season 1 of the reality television show Say It To My Face! Gruel hosted a culinary radio show called Cooking with Gruel in 2015. He was a guest host on the weekly The SoCal Restaurant Show on KLAA, which launched in 2012. | Gruel is married with three children. | Gruel began his career working in fine dining restaurants, hotels and diners in New Jersey, as a cook at the Ritz Carlton in Boston and at Jack's of New London in New London, New Hampshire. He left the East Coast in 2009 to work as director of Seafood for the Future, a nonprofit program at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California. Gruel's first television appearance was on the BBC show The Endless Feast in 2007. He served as a judge on the Food Channel's Food Truck Face Off in 2014, and also appeared on Eat St. on the Cooking Channel, Today on NBC, and On the Rocks on the Food Network. In 2015, Gruel starred as a host on season 1 of the reality television show Say It To My Face! Gruel hosted a culinary radio show called Cooking with Gruel in 2015. He was a guest host on the weekly The SoCal Restaurant Show on KLAA, which launched in 2012.Gruel is married with three children. | chefs |
| 33 | 33 | Peter Grunauer | Peter | Grunauer | M | After working as a server on a cruise ship, Peter got his start in the United States as a waiter at Brooklyn's famous Peter Luger Steak House from 1971 to 1973, followed by stints at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel as food and beverage manager, and later at Regines in New York, also as food and beverage manager. In 1979, Peter was joined by Karl Zartler, who was his partner in the creation and operation of Vienna 79, a sixty-five seat fine dining restaurant located on 79th Street on New York’s Upper East Side. Vienna 79 was awarded four stars by food critic Mimi Sheraton, writing for The New York Times. Peter and Karl operated Vienna 79 until it was sold in 1989. After the sale of Vienna 79, Peter created a chain of less-expensive bistros called Fledermaus. Fledermaus closed in 1996. Since that time, Peter has played a variety of roles in the hospitality business, primarily as a food broker and as a food and restaurant consultant, which he continues to pursue at the present time. Peter Grunauer, along with his son Nicholas and daughter Elisabeth, opened Grunauer in Kansas City, Missouri in May 2010. The restaurant is located in Kansas City's Crossroads Arts District and "focuses on authentic representations of classic Austrian and Continental European cuisine". Now adults, Nicholas and Elisabeth run the day-to-day operations at Grunauer, which is located in Kansas City's historic Freight House. Peter is author of Viennese Cuisine: The New Approach, published by Doubleday in 1987. | Peter married TWA flight attendant Lynne Bielski in 1976, and they had two children: Elisabeth and Nicholas. The children were raised in Kansas City from the time they were teenagers. | After working as a server on a cruise ship, Peter got his start in the United States as a waiter at Brooklyn's famous Peter Luger Steak House from 1971 to 1973, followed by stints at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel as food and beverage manager, and later at Regines in New York, also as food and beverage manager. In 1979, Peter was joined by Karl Zartler, who was his partner in the creation and operation of Vienna 79, a sixty-five seat fine dining restaurant located on 79th Street on New York’s Upper East Side. Vienna 79 was awarded four stars by food critic Mimi Sheraton, writing for The New York Times. Peter and Karl operated Vienna 79 until it was sold in 1989. After the sale of Vienna 79, Peter created a chain of less-expensive bistros called Fledermaus. Fledermaus closed in 1996. Since that time, Peter has played a variety of roles in the hospitality business, primarily as a food broker and as a food and restaurant consultant, which he continues to pursue at the present time. Peter Grunauer, along with his son Nicholas and daughter Elisabeth, opened Grunauer in Kansas City, Missouri in May 2010. The restaurant is located in Kansas City's Crossroads Arts District and "focuses on authentic representations of classic Austrian and Continental European cuisine". Now adults, Nicholas and Elisabeth run the day-to-day operations at Grunauer, which is located in Kansas City's historic Freight House. Peter is author of Viennese Cuisine: The New Approach, published by Doubleday in 1987.Peter married TWA flight attendant Lynne Bielski in 1976, and they had two children: Elisabeth and Nicholas. The children were raised in Kansas City from the time they were teenagers. | chefs |
| 34 | 34 | Timothy Harlan | Timothy | Harlan | M | Since May 2007, Harlan has been the associate chief of general internal medicine and geriatrics for outpatient programs at the Tulane University School of Medicine. He has also been the medical director of the Tulane University Medical Group since December 2008. In addition, he is the owner of Harlan Bros. Productions and publishes his website, DrGourmet.com. Harlan's first book, It’s Heartly Fare, is a food manual for patients with cardiovascular disease. It’s Heartly Fare was first published by Pritchett Hull & Associates in September 1991 and the fifth edition was released in fall 2006. The main focus of the book is to learn a new way of eating that cuts down the saturated fat, sugar and salt in a person's diet. His second book, Hand on Heart, was published in September 2004 by ENDpapers publishing. Hand on Heart teaches readers how to eat a balanced diet. The book includes healthy versions of familiar recipes, as well as an 'Equipment Starter Kit' and a 'Healthy Pantry' list to inform readers which materials and ingredients they will need to make the recipes. The Dr. Gourmet Diet for Coumadin Users was published in 2009 by Harlan Bros. Productions. The book contains six weeks worth of recipes for meals, shopping lists, recipe nutrition facts, and ingredient and cooking tips that allow Coumadin users to follow a healthy diet. Harlan's latest book, Just Tell Me What to Eat!, was released on June 7, 2011, by Da Capo Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Just Tell Me What to Eat! offers a six-week weight loss plan that is based on the Mediterranean diet. The book informs readers how to lose weight by following a sustainable diet instead of a fad diet. Harlan has been an on-air consultant to the TV Food Network show Cooking Thin, as well as a host for the show AskDIY, aired by the DIY Network. He also has had his own television program called The Dr. Gourmet Show, which won an Emmy award for excellence in medical programming after being aired on a regional public station. In January 1984, Harlan created his … | Harlan currently lives in New Orleans, Louisiana. He has been a member of the Rotary International since 1996. Since 1995 he has been a member of board of trustees for Randolph-Macon Academy, a military school in Front Royal, Virginia, and he served as an advisory board member for Livestrong.com from May 2008 until May 2009. | Since May 2007, Harlan has been the associate chief of general internal medicine and geriatrics for outpatient programs at the Tulane University School of Medicine. He has also been the medical director of the Tulane University Medical Group since December 2008. In addition, he is the owner of Harlan Bros. Productions and publishes his website, DrGourmet.com. Harlan's first book, It’s Heartly Fare, is a food manual for patients with cardiovascular disease. It’s Heartly Fare was first published by Pritchett Hull & Associates in September 1991 and the fifth edition was released in fall 2006. The main focus of the book is to learn a new way of eating that cuts down the saturated fat, sugar and salt in a person's diet. His second book, Hand on Heart, was published in September 2004 by ENDpapers publishing. Hand on Heart teaches readers how to eat a balanced diet. The book includes healthy versions of familiar recipes, as well as an 'Equipment Starter Kit' and a 'Healthy Pantry' list to inform readers which materials and ingredients they will need to make the recipes. The Dr. Gourmet Diet for Coumadin Users was published in 2009 by Harlan Bros. Productions. The book contains six weeks worth of recipes for meals, shopping lists, recipe nutrition facts, and ingredient and cooking tips that allow Coumadin users to follow a healthy diet. Harlan's latest book, Just Tell Me What to Eat!, was released on June 7, 2011, by Da Capo Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Just Tell Me What to Eat! offers a six-week weight loss plan that is based on the Mediterranean diet. The book informs readers how to lose weight by following a sustainable diet instead of a fad diet. Harlan has been an on-air consultant to the TV Food Network show Cooking Thin, as well as a host for the show AskDIY, aired by the DIY Network. He also has had his own television program called The Dr. Gourmet Show, which won an Emmy award for excellence in medical programming after being aired on a regional public station. In January 1984, Harlan created his … | chefs |
| 35 | 35 | Jeff Henderson | Jeff | M | In 2001, Henderson became the first African-American Chef de Cuisine at Caesars Palace. He eventually became an executive chef at several top restaurants including Café Bellagio, where he worked until 2006. | Henderson was stabbed in the chest when he was 16 over a gang-related dispute. In 1988, he was arrested by the San Diego Drug Task Force and charge with intent to distribute illegal narcotics. Henderson currently lives in Las Vegas with his wife Stacy and five children. | Henderson was stabbed in the chest when he was 16 over a gang-related dispute. In 1988, he was arrested by the San Diego Drug Task Force and charge with intent to distribute illegal narcotics. Henderson currently lives in Las Vegas with his wife Stacy and five children.In 2001, Henderson became the first African-American Chef de Cuisine at Caesars Palace. He eventually became an executive chef at several top restaurants including Café Bellagio, where he worked until 2006. | chefs | |
| 36 | 36 | Robert Irvine | Robert | Irvine | M | Irvine started his television career on Food Network on a show called Fit for a King, which was later re-titled before broadcast to Dinner: Impossible, where he would be given countless challenges over the course of the life of the show. Irvine also appeared in a December 2007 episode of Iron Chef America with Tyler Florence in a dessert battle (theme ingredient: sugar) against Paula Deen and Cat Cora in which the men lost. In 2006, Irvine had announced his intention to open two restaurants in St. Petersburg, Florida. Irvine had impressed a Florida socialite with the claims he was a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, had a degree in food and nutrition from the University of Leeds, had worked on the wedding cake for Prince Charles and Princess Diana and had served at the White House as a chef, a claim Irvine also made in the opening segment of his Food Network show, Dinner: Impossible. An article in the 17 February 2008 issue of the St. Petersburg Times quoted sources who disputed some of Irvine's assertions. As a result, Food Network pulled Irvine's biography from its website. Network spokesperson Lisa De Colle said they were "taking the necessary steps to ensure the accuracy of all representations of Robert". In 2008, Irvine posted to his blog to "set the record straight" regarding his past service and point out erroneous reports made by the St. Petersburg Times. This included letters from those he worked with at the White House, including Rear Admiral Michael H. Miller, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Military Office and F.X. Fuller, Director of Presidential Food Service. On 29 February 2008, Food Network announced it would honour its contract with Irvine for a fourth season of thirteen episodes of Dinner: Impossible but was also looking for a replacement host for the series. On 21 April 2008, Food Network executives released a statement announcing they were expanding the Dinner: Impossible series to a one-hour format and replacing Irvine with recent Iron Chef Ameri… | Irvine lived with his first wife Karen in Absecon, New Jersey, before buying another home in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, where he lived since at least 2002. Irvine married professional wrestler Gail Kim on 10 May 2012. The couple met on the set of Dinner: Impossible, when he came to serve VIPs for WWE's SummerSlam. As of December 2013, Irvine's permanent residence was listed as Tampa, Florida. He has two daughters, Annalise and Talia, from his first marriage. He is Christian. Due to his active lifestyle and passion for physical fitness, Irvine was selected as one of the "25 Fittest Guys in America" by Men's Fitness magazine in 2007. He typically works in a black T-shirt or chef's jacket bearing the Irvine clan badge with the motto: "sub sole, sub umbra, virens" (flourishing in both sunshine and shade). | Irvine started his television career on Food Network on a show called Fit for a King, which was later re-titled before broadcast to Dinner: Impossible, where he would be given countless challenges over the course of the life of the show. Irvine also appeared in a December 2007 episode of Iron Chef America with Tyler Florence in a dessert battle (theme ingredient: sugar) against Paula Deen and Cat Cora in which the men lost. In 2006, Irvine had announced his intention to open two restaurants in St. Petersburg, Florida. Irvine had impressed a Florida socialite with the claims he was a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, had a degree in food and nutrition from the University of Leeds, had worked on the wedding cake for Prince Charles and Princess Diana and had served at the White House as a chef, a claim Irvine also made in the opening segment of his Food Network show, Dinner: Impossible. An article in the 17 February 2008 issue of the St. Petersburg Times quoted sources who disputed some of Irvine's assertions. As a result, Food Network pulled Irvine's biography from its website. Network spokesperson Lisa De Colle said they were "taking the necessary steps to ensure the accuracy of all representations of Robert". In 2008, Irvine posted to his blog to "set the record straight" regarding his past service and point out erroneous reports made by the St. Petersburg Times. This included letters from those he worked with at the White House, including Rear Admiral Michael H. Miller, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Military Office and F.X. Fuller, Director of Presidential Food Service. On 29 February 2008, Food Network announced it would honour its contract with Irvine for a fourth season of thirteen episodes of Dinner: Impossible but was also looking for a replacement host for the series. On 21 April 2008, Food Network executives released a statement announcing they were expanding the Dinner: Impossible series to a one-hour format and replacing Irvine with recent Iron Chef Ameri… | chefs |
| 37 | 37 | Johnny Iuzzini | Johnny | Iuzzini | M | Iuzzini's first restaurant job was after school as a part-time dishwasher at the local golf club. At the time, he was enrolled in his high school's voc-tech culinary program, and Iuzzini garnered his first cooking award by finishing second in a New York City culinary competition. At age seventeen Iuzzini took a job as garde manger, beginning his career in New York City, and began assisting Pastry Chef Eric Gouteyron at the restaurant. He then switched jobs to work making desserts full-time, launching his career as a pastry chef. Iuzzini attended The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, graduating in 1994 with a Baking and Pastry Arts degree. During his externship at the Culinary Institute of America, Iuzzini worked with pastry chef Lincoln Carson at Luxe, who had formerly worked for Francois Payard at Le Bernadin; he coaxed Iuzzini to visit Payard, who then offered Iuzzini a job as pastry chef at Daniel. During the next three and a half years, he mastered all dessert stations and became Payard's close assistant. When Payard opened his Payard Pâtisserie and Bistro in 1997, Iuzzini was selected as sous chef, while continuing to work at Daniel. In 1998, burned out from the hectic pace, Iuzzini took a break from the kitchen and in France he studied pastry technique while staging at several of the country's finest patisseries. After eight months around the world, he returned to New York to work for chef/owner Daniel Boulud, opening Café Boulud and the new Daniel as Executive Sous Chef. In 2001 Boulud promoted the 26-year-old Iuzzini to Executive Pastry Chef. In May 2002, chef/owner Jean-Georges Vongerichten selected Iuzzini for the position of Executive Pastry Chef at Restaurant Jean Georges, including the restaurant's café, Nougatine. It is during this period of his career that Iuzzini achieved his most distinguished recognition and awards, including “Best Pastry Chef” by New York Magazine in 2002, “Outstanding Pastry Chef of the Year” nomination by the James Beard Foundation in 2003, and “Ten Best P… | On November 29, 2017, Iuzzini was accused of sexual harassment by four of his former employees. As a result of the accusations against Iuzzini, the third season of The Great American Baking Show was pulled after two episodes. On December 13, 2017, Iuzzini was fired from ABC and The Great American Baking Show following the sexual misconduct allegations. | Iuzzini's first restaurant job was after school as a part-time dishwasher at the local golf club. At the time, he was enrolled in his high school's voc-tech culinary program, and Iuzzini garnered his first cooking award by finishing second in a New York City culinary competition. At age seventeen Iuzzini took a job as garde manger, beginning his career in New York City, and began assisting Pastry Chef Eric Gouteyron at the restaurant. He then switched jobs to work making desserts full-time, launching his career as a pastry chef. Iuzzini attended The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, graduating in 1994 with a Baking and Pastry Arts degree. During his externship at the Culinary Institute of America, Iuzzini worked with pastry chef Lincoln Carson at Luxe, who had formerly worked for Francois Payard at Le Bernadin; he coaxed Iuzzini to visit Payard, who then offered Iuzzini a job as pastry chef at Daniel. During the next three and a half years, he mastered all dessert stations and became Payard's close assistant. When Payard opened his Payard Pâtisserie and Bistro in 1997, Iuzzini was selected as sous chef, while continuing to work at Daniel. In 1998, burned out from the hectic pace, Iuzzini took a break from the kitchen and in France he studied pastry technique while staging at several of the country's finest patisseries. After eight months around the world, he returned to New York to work for chef/owner Daniel Boulud, opening Café Boulud and the new Daniel as Executive Sous Chef. In 2001 Boulud promoted the 26-year-old Iuzzini to Executive Pastry Chef. In May 2002, chef/owner Jean-Georges Vongerichten selected Iuzzini for the position of Executive Pastry Chef at Restaurant Jean Georges, including the restaurant's café, Nougatine. It is during this period of his career that Iuzzini achieved his most distinguished recognition and awards, including “Best Pastry Chef” by New York Magazine in 2002, “Outstanding Pastry Chef of the Year” nomination by the James Beard Foundation in 2003, and “Ten Best P… | chefs |
| 38 | 38 | Sam Kass | Sam | Kass | M | In 2007, Kass opened his own personal chef company in Chicago, Inevitable Table, which focused on healthful and nutritious food. He then became the personal chef to the Obamas while Barack Obama was serving in the United States Senate. In January 2009, Kass went to work at the White House Office as First Lady Michelle Obama's Food Initiative Coordinator, and joined the kitchen staff as an Assistant Chef under Executive Chef Cris Comerford. In 2010, Kass was promoted to Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives. In 2013, Kass was named Let's Move! Executive Director and promoted to Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition Policy. In these roles, Kass assisted Michelle Obama in creating the first major vegetable garden at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt's victory garden. The garden does not use herbicides, pesticides, or chemical fertilizer. Kass also assisted the First Lady in her efforts to promote healthy eating and the prevention of childhood obesity. He was the chief architect of the Let's Move! campaign, which utilized private-sector partnerships to pursue the goal of reducing childhood obesity to 5% by 2030. He was named #11 on Fast Company magazine's 2011 list of 100 Most Creative People for his work with Let's Move!, in particular for a five-year partnership pledge from grocery giant Walmart, which announced a commitment to build up to 300 stores in areas defined as "food deserts", lower the price of its fruits and vegetables, and reduce the sugar, salt, and fat in its private-label products on its shelves. Kass is a promoter of sustainable farming and locally grown and organic foods and is a critic of modern agricultural producers and fertilizer and pesticide companies. He has also railed against the national lunch program as "disproportionately high in fat, preservatives and high fructose corn syrup." Kass has been criticized for his unwillingness to acknowledge the benefits of pesticides and chemical fertilizers as well as the high cost of organic farming relative to corporate farming. In 20… | In September 2013, Kass became engaged to MSNBC television anchor Alex Wagner. After stepping down from his post at the White House, Kass moved to Brooklyn, New York. On August 30, 2014, Kass and Wagner were married in a ceremony at the restaurant Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, New York. The President, First Lady, and the First Daughters attended the wedding. In 2017, Wagner gave birth to their son, Cy. | In 2007, Kass opened his own personal chef company in Chicago, Inevitable Table, which focused on healthful and nutritious food. He then became the personal chef to the Obamas while Barack Obama was serving in the United States Senate. In January 2009, Kass went to work at the White House Office as First Lady Michelle Obama's Food Initiative Coordinator, and joined the kitchen staff as an Assistant Chef under Executive Chef Cris Comerford. In 2010, Kass was promoted to Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives. In 2013, Kass was named Let's Move! Executive Director and promoted to Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition Policy. In these roles, Kass assisted Michelle Obama in creating the first major vegetable garden at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt's victory garden. The garden does not use herbicides, pesticides, or chemical fertilizer. Kass also assisted the First Lady in her efforts to promote healthy eating and the prevention of childhood obesity. He was the chief architect of the Let's Move! campaign, which utilized private-sector partnerships to pursue the goal of reducing childhood obesity to 5% by 2030. He was named #11 on Fast Company magazine's 2011 list of 100 Most Creative People for his work with Let's Move!, in particular for a five-year partnership pledge from grocery giant Walmart, which announced a commitment to build up to 300 stores in areas defined as "food deserts", lower the price of its fruits and vegetables, and reduce the sugar, salt, and fat in its private-label products on its shelves. Kass is a promoter of sustainable farming and locally grown and organic foods and is a critic of modern agricultural producers and fertilizer and pesticide companies. He has also railed against the national lunch program as "disproportionately high in fat, preservatives and high fructose corn syrup." Kass has been criticized for his unwillingness to acknowledge the benefits of pesticides and chemical fertilizers as well as the high cost of organic farming relative to corporate farming. In 20… | chefs |
| 39 | 39 | Christopher Kimball | Christopher | Kimball | M | After graduating from Columbia, he went to work with his stepbrother in a publishing company. Soon after, he worked for The Center for Direct Marketing in Westport, Connecticut and also started taking cooking courses. After securing $100,000 in angel investments from friends and family, he started Cook’s Magazine from a tiny office in Weston, Connecticut in 1980 when he was 29 years old. He sold the magazine to the Bonnier Group in 1989 and moved on to other publishing ventures. Kimball was a co-founder and has been editor and publisher of America's Test Kitchen, which produces television and radio shows, and publishes magazines, including Cook's Illustrated, which Kimball launched in 1993. It also publishes Cook's Country magazine, which was launched in 2004,. The company's revenue comes from its readers, rather than advertisers, which differentiates them from the competitors. Its cookbook publisher division is Two Pigs Farm. Boston Common Press, a private partnership between Kimball, Eliot Wadsworth II, and George P. Denny III, owned Kimball's publishing activities. Kimball also hosted the syndicated Public Television cooking shows America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Country from America's Test Kitchen. On November 16, 2015, a news release from Boston Common Press, parent company of Cooks Country/Cooks Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen, announced the departure of Christopher Kimball. The 2016 TV programs had already been filmed and Kimball appeared as host, but his direct participation in the company ended immediately. He remained a minority stockholder until 2019 when he sold his shares back to the company as part of a lawsuit settlement. In 2016, he created Christopher Kimball's Milk Street, located on Milk Street in Boston, Massachusetts. On October 31, 2016, Boston Common Press (the parent company of America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Illustrated) filed a lawsuit against Kimball in Suffolk Superior Court, claiming that Kimball "literally and conceptually ripped off" his former employer. In the lawsuit, Boston… | He has been married three times. He had a son and three daughters with his second wife, Adrienne. They divorced in December 2012. On June 30, 2013, Kimball married Melissa Lee Baldino, executive producer of the America's Test Kitchen television show. She is now co-founder of Christopher Kimball's Milk Street. Their son, Oliver Kimball, was born on May 4, 2017. A daughter, Rike, was born in 2019. | After graduating from Columbia, he went to work with his stepbrother in a publishing company. Soon after, he worked for The Center for Direct Marketing in Westport, Connecticut and also started taking cooking courses. After securing $100,000 in angel investments from friends and family, he started Cook’s Magazine from a tiny office in Weston, Connecticut in 1980 when he was 29 years old. He sold the magazine to the Bonnier Group in 1989 and moved on to other publishing ventures. Kimball was a co-founder and has been editor and publisher of America's Test Kitchen, which produces television and radio shows, and publishes magazines, including Cook's Illustrated, which Kimball launched in 1993. It also publishes Cook's Country magazine, which was launched in 2004,. The company's revenue comes from its readers, rather than advertisers, which differentiates them from the competitors. Its cookbook publisher division is Two Pigs Farm. Boston Common Press, a private partnership between Kimball, Eliot Wadsworth II, and George P. Denny III, owned Kimball's publishing activities. Kimball also hosted the syndicated Public Television cooking shows America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Country from America's Test Kitchen. On November 16, 2015, a news release from Boston Common Press, parent company of Cooks Country/Cooks Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen, announced the departure of Christopher Kimball. The 2016 TV programs had already been filmed and Kimball appeared as host, but his direct participation in the company ended immediately. He remained a minority stockholder until 2019 when he sold his shares back to the company as part of a lawsuit settlement. In 2016, he created Christopher Kimball's Milk Street, located on Milk Street in Boston, Massachusetts. On October 31, 2016, Boston Common Press (the parent company of America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Illustrated) filed a lawsuit against Kimball in Suffolk Superior Court, claiming that Kimball "literally and conceptually ripped off" his former employer. In the lawsuit, Boston… | chefs |
| 40 | 40 | John La Puma | John | Puma | M | La Puma taught in Chicago at Kendall College as a professor of nutrition. While serving as a professor and practicing medicine, he also cooked with chef Rick Bayless at Frontera Grill and Topolobampo in Chicago weekly for four years. La Puma would later found CHEF Clinic, the Cooking, Healthy Eating and Fitness, program to prevent and treat obesity, maintain weight loss and measurably promote wellness. He is co-founder of ChefMDR, a health and media company, and founder of CHEF ClinicR, GlutenFreeQuiz for celiac disease screening and Do You Need More Nature? for nature deficit disorder. The first physician to teach cooking and nutrition in a U.S. medical school, he has authored over 250 original publications, book chapters, abstracts and books. His research interests include weight control, nature deficit disorder, food as medicine, employee wellness, stress management and medical ethics. His first book for the general public, written with Dr. Michael Roizen, The RealAge Diet: Make Yourself Younger with What You Eat (April 2001) reached The New York Times Bestseller List. His cookbook is Cooking the RealAge Way (May 2003), co-authored with Dr. Roizen. Dr. La Puma contributed recipes to The New York Times Bestseller YOU: The Owner’s Manual (May 2005), co-authored by Drs. Roizen and Mehmet Oz. His ChefMD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine (April 2008) reached The New York Times Bestseller List in October 2008. In it, La Puma describes the new field of culinary medicine (the art of cooking integrated with the science of medicine), taught in 22 U.S. medical schools by 2016 , and its application to 40 common health conditions. He next wrote Refuel: A 24 Day Eating Plan (January 2014) to help men learn how food works in their bodies and how to boost lower testosterone without medication. He gave TEDx and TEDMED talks (in 2011 and 2014, respectively) on culinary medicine and in 2019 recorded GreenRx, a mini docuseries on nature therapy for anxiety, addiction and well-being. | La Puma resides in Santa Barbara, California. | La Puma taught in Chicago at Kendall College as a professor of nutrition. While serving as a professor and practicing medicine, he also cooked with chef Rick Bayless at Frontera Grill and Topolobampo in Chicago weekly for four years. La Puma would later found CHEF Clinic, the Cooking, Healthy Eating and Fitness, program to prevent and treat obesity, maintain weight loss and measurably promote wellness. He is co-founder of ChefMDR, a health and media company, and founder of CHEF ClinicR, GlutenFreeQuiz for celiac disease screening and Do You Need More Nature? for nature deficit disorder. The first physician to teach cooking and nutrition in a U.S. medical school, he has authored over 250 original publications, book chapters, abstracts and books. His research interests include weight control, nature deficit disorder, food as medicine, employee wellness, stress management and medical ethics. His first book for the general public, written with Dr. Michael Roizen, The RealAge Diet: Make Yourself Younger with What You Eat (April 2001) reached The New York Times Bestseller List. His cookbook is Cooking the RealAge Way (May 2003), co-authored with Dr. Roizen. Dr. La Puma contributed recipes to The New York Times Bestseller YOU: The Owner’s Manual (May 2005), co-authored by Drs. Roizen and Mehmet Oz. His ChefMD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine (April 2008) reached The New York Times Bestseller List in October 2008. In it, La Puma describes the new field of culinary medicine (the art of cooking integrated with the science of medicine), taught in 22 U.S. medical schools by 2016 , and its application to 40 common health conditions. He next wrote Refuel: A 24 Day Eating Plan (January 2014) to help men learn how food works in their bodies and how to boost lower testosterone without medication. He gave TEDx and TEDMED talks (in 2011 and 2014, respectively) on culinary medicine and in 2019 recorded GreenRx, a mini docuseries on nature therapy for anxiety, addiction and well-being.La Puma resides in Santa Barbara, California. | chefs |
| 41 | 41 | Emeril Lagasse | Emeril | Lagasse | M | Lagasse graduated from the culinary school JWU in 1978 and became Executive Chef at the Dunfey's Hyannis Resort in 1979. He was nominated as Chef of the Year in 1983. In 1982 Lagasse succeeded Paul Prudhomme as executive chef of Commander's Palace in New Orleans under Richard Brennan, Sr. He led the kitchen there for seven and a half years before leaving to open his own restaurant. In 1990 he opened Emeril's in New Orleans. It was designated "Restaurant of the Year" in Esquire magazine that year, and has been a recipient of the Wine Spectator Grand Award since 1999. Many of his restaurants, as well as his corporate office, Emeril's Homebase, are located in New Orleans. In August 2006 Lagasse contributed several recipes to the meal selection aboard the International Space Station, as part of a general NASA effort to improve the quality of the food supply for astronauts. Lagasse's cuisine in particular was selected in the hopes that the spicier fare would offset the reported tendency of microgravity to deaden flavors. Lagasse is the executive chef and proprietor of thirteen restaurants in New Orleans, Las Vegas, Orlando, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. | Lagasse met his first wife, Elizabeth Kief, while working at the Venus De Milo Restaurant in Swansea, Massachusetts to pay his way through school. After Kief and Lagasse divorced, Lagasse married a second time to a fashion designer, Tari Hohn, but that too ended in divorce. Lagasse was married a third time on May 13, 2000, to a real estate broker, Alden Lovelace. He and Lovelace had two children. In 2011, Lagasse and his family moved to Destin, Florida. His mother, Hilda Medeiros Lagasse died on August 24, 2016. | Lagasse graduated from the culinary school JWU in 1978 and became Executive Chef at the Dunfey's Hyannis Resort in 1979. He was nominated as Chef of the Year in 1983. In 1982 Lagasse succeeded Paul Prudhomme as executive chef of Commander's Palace in New Orleans under Richard Brennan, Sr. He led the kitchen there for seven and a half years before leaving to open his own restaurant. In 1990 he opened Emeril's in New Orleans. It was designated "Restaurant of the Year" in Esquire magazine that year, and has been a recipient of the Wine Spectator Grand Award since 1999. Many of his restaurants, as well as his corporate office, Emeril's Homebase, are located in New Orleans. In August 2006 Lagasse contributed several recipes to the meal selection aboard the International Space Station, as part of a general NASA effort to improve the quality of the food supply for astronauts. Lagasse's cuisine in particular was selected in the hopes that the spicier fare would offset the reported tendency of microgravity to deaden flavors. Lagasse is the executive chef and proprietor of thirteen restaurants in New Orleans, Las Vegas, Orlando, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.Lagasse met his first wife, Elizabeth Kief, while working at the Venus De Milo Restaurant in Swansea, Massachusetts to pay his way through school. After Kief and Lagasse divorced, Lagasse married a second time to a fashion designer, Tari Hohn, but that too ended in divorce. Lagasse was married a third time on May 13, 2000, to a real estate broker, Alden Lovelace. He and Lovelace had two children. In 2011, Lagasse and his family moved to Destin, Florida. His mother, Hilda Medeiros Lagasse died on August 24, 2016. | chefs |
| 42 | 42 | Dennis Leary | Dennis | M | In 2005, Dennis Leary started his own restaurant and bar called Canteen, as the sole chef and owner. The Canteen was an intimate 20-seat restaurant in the Commodore Hotel where Leary prepared nearly every dish in the restaurant. Dennis Leary partnered with Eric Passetti and opened The Sentinel, a sandwich shop downtown San Francisco in 2008. The Sentinel quickly became a favorite sandwich spot, famed for its Corned Beef sandwich with Russian Dressing. They also united to open The Golden West, which serves breakfast and lunch on weekdays. During 2009, Leary and Passetti joined the bar business and opened House of Shields in SoMa. The House of Shields has been in existence since 1908. Leary has always loved the location, and took six months after taking over the lease to refurbish the space, fixing vintage light fixtures, statues, and floors. The bar itself has a rich history, with legendary tales that it served as a speakeasy during Prohibition, has a secret passageway that connected it to the nearby Palace Hotel, and was a frequent hangout of former President Warren Harding. To keep tradition with the bar's old-school nature, the bar has no clock on premises, nor a T.V. The cocktail concept is classic and high-quality, without a focus on mixology trends or cheeky drink names. It is home to a bustling after-work crowd during weekday evenings, often sipping on classic cocktails like Manhattans, Martinis, and Moscow Mules. Throughout 2013 and 2014, Dennis Leary and Passetti opened up two restaurants in the San Francisco area, Terminus and the Trocadero Club (reopened as RxBar). Terminus serves breakfast and lunch, and provides a catering service. Leary received the title of Empire Builder of the Year at the 2013 Eater Awards, with his partner Eric Passetti. In July 16, 2014, Leary opened up Natoma Cabana with partner Eric Passetti on Natoma St. Natoma Cabana is set in a former blacksmith's shop. The interior of the bar dates back to 1913. Leary commissioned local graffiti artist, Ian Ross, to design the front of… | Dennis Leary owns a forty-acre parcel in Capay Valley called Andromeda Farm, and works on it on the weekends. The farm produces vegetables that can be found at Leary's establishments. | In 2005, Dennis Leary started his own restaurant and bar called Canteen, as the sole chef and owner. The Canteen was an intimate 20-seat restaurant in the Commodore Hotel where Leary prepared nearly every dish in the restaurant. Dennis Leary partnered with Eric Passetti and opened The Sentinel, a sandwich shop downtown San Francisco in 2008. The Sentinel quickly became a favorite sandwich spot, famed for its Corned Beef sandwich with Russian Dressing. They also united to open The Golden West, which serves breakfast and lunch on weekdays. During 2009, Leary and Passetti joined the bar business and opened House of Shields in SoMa. The House of Shields has been in existence since 1908. Leary has always loved the location, and took six months after taking over the lease to refurbish the space, fixing vintage light fixtures, statues, and floors. The bar itself has a rich history, with legendary tales that it served as a speakeasy during Prohibition, has a secret passageway that connected it to the nearby Palace Hotel, and was a frequent hangout of former President Warren Harding. To keep tradition with the bar's old-school nature, the bar has no clock on premises, nor a T.V. The cocktail concept is classic and high-quality, without a focus on mixology trends or cheeky drink names. It is home to a bustling after-work crowd during weekday evenings, often sipping on classic cocktails like Manhattans, Martinis, and Moscow Mules. Throughout 2013 and 2014, Dennis Leary and Passetti opened up two restaurants in the San Francisco area, Terminus and the Trocadero Club (reopened as RxBar). Terminus serves breakfast and lunch, and provides a catering service. Leary received the title of Empire Builder of the Year at the 2013 Eater Awards, with his partner Eric Passetti. In July 16, 2014, Leary opened up Natoma Cabana with partner Eric Passetti on Natoma St. Natoma Cabana is set in a former blacksmith's shop. The interior of the bar dates back to 1913. Leary commissioned local graffiti artist, Ian Ross, to design the front of… | chefs | |
| 43 | 43 | Edward Lee | Edward | M | Lee was born on July 2, 1972 and raised in Brooklyn to Korean parents. Lee began cooking at the age of 11 and credits his grandmother with first sparking his interest in food. After graduating magna cum laude with a degree in literature from NYU, Lee began cooking professionally at the age of 22. He traveled to France and toured the US to learn more about different ingredients, cuisines and cooking methods. It was on a trip to the Kentucky Derby in 2001 that he fell in love with Louisville and Southern cooking. He moved to the city in 2002 and began working at 610 Magnolia with former chef/owner Eddie Garber. Lee now owns 610 Magnolia along with four other restaurants; Milkwood and Whiskey Dry in Louisville, and two locations of Succotash, in Washington, D.C. and National Harbor. In 2007, Lee opened a venue for special events called The Wine Studio@610 Magnolia. In 2011, he was one of the 'cheftestants' on season 9 of Top Chef. He won two elimination challenges, and was the twelfth to exit the competition. He was also the host chef featured in the third season of The Mind of a Chef. In 2014, Lee partnered with YouthBuild and IDEAS 40203 to create a culinary training program based in the Smoketown neighborhood of Louisville. The program trains youth who may not be able to afford expensive culinary schools with skills in all aspects of the restaurant industry. In 2015, Lee's young chef trainees launched a pop-up diner called Smoke & Soul. Lee has been nominated four times by the James Beard Foundation for Best Chef: Southeast in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. In 2013, he published a cookbook, Smoke and Pickles. The book received positive reviews from food journalists and other chefs including David Chang and Anthony Bourdain. In 2017, Lee was the chef judge for the American adaptation of Culinary Genius. In 2017, Lee founded The LEE Initiative. The LEE (Let’s Empower Employment) Initiative identifies issues surrounding diversity in the restaurant industry and creates solutions to help the restaurant community grow. The… | Lee is married to Kentucky native Dianne Lee. The couple welcomed a baby girl, Arden, in 2013. | Lee was born on July 2, 1972 and raised in Brooklyn to Korean parents. Lee began cooking at the age of 11 and credits his grandmother with first sparking his interest in food. After graduating magna cum laude with a degree in literature from NYU, Lee began cooking professionally at the age of 22. He traveled to France and toured the US to learn more about different ingredients, cuisines and cooking methods. It was on a trip to the Kentucky Derby in 2001 that he fell in love with Louisville and Southern cooking. He moved to the city in 2002 and began working at 610 Magnolia with former chef/owner Eddie Garber. Lee now owns 610 Magnolia along with four other restaurants; Milkwood and Whiskey Dry in Louisville, and two locations of Succotash, in Washington, D.C. and National Harbor. In 2007, Lee opened a venue for special events called The Wine Studio@610 Magnolia. In 2011, he was one of the 'cheftestants' on season 9 of Top Chef. He won two elimination challenges, and was the twelfth to exit the competition. He was also the host chef featured in the third season of The Mind of a Chef. In 2014, Lee partnered with YouthBuild and IDEAS 40203 to create a culinary training program based in the Smoketown neighborhood of Louisville. The program trains youth who may not be able to afford expensive culinary schools with skills in all aspects of the restaurant industry. In 2015, Lee's young chef trainees launched a pop-up diner called Smoke & Soul. Lee has been nominated four times by the James Beard Foundation for Best Chef: Southeast in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. In 2013, he published a cookbook, Smoke and Pickles. The book received positive reviews from food journalists and other chefs including David Chang and Anthony Bourdain. In 2017, Lee was the chef judge for the American adaptation of Culinary Genius. In 2017, Lee founded The LEE Initiative. The LEE (Let’s Empower Employment) Initiative identifies issues surrounding diversity in the restaurant industry and creates solutions to help the restaurant community grow. The… | chefs | |
| 44 | 44 | Glenn Lindgren | Glenn | Lindgren | M | Lindgren was featured in Keith Famie's Adventures: Miami and South Beach on the Food Network in 2002 and in Tyler's Ultimate: The Ultimate Paella on the Food Network in 2003. He also appeared in Christmas in America: Miami Noche Buena on the Food Network, which originally aired December 14, 2003. Lindgren also appeared on "CBS Sunday Morning" in 2005 and was featured in a Public television documentary, La Cocina Cubana: Secretos de Mi Abuela -- The Cuban Kitchen: My Grandmother's Secrets, which aired May 26, 2005. | Glenn Lindgren grew up in Minneapolis and first came to Miami in 1984, where he began his studies in Cuban and Latin cuisine. Glenn Lindgren died while hiking in Minnesota. | Lindgren was featured in Keith Famie's Adventures: Miami and South Beach on the Food Network in 2002 and in Tyler's Ultimate: The Ultimate Paella on the Food Network in 2003. He also appeared in Christmas in America: Miami Noche Buena on the Food Network, which originally aired December 14, 2003. Lindgren also appeared on "CBS Sunday Morning" in 2005 and was featured in a Public television documentary, La Cocina Cubana: Secretos de Mi Abuela -- The Cuban Kitchen: My Grandmother's Secrets, which aired May 26, 2005.Glenn Lindgren grew up in Minneapolis and first came to Miami in 1984, where he began his studies in Cuban and Latin cuisine. Glenn Lindgren died while hiking in Minnesota. | chefs |
| 45 | 45 | Travis London | Travis | London | M | At 16, London began throwing parties for his friends, which eventually landed him on "Page Six" as a "party-going L.A. hipster". By the time he received formal training at the French Culinary Institute, he had secured a food column in OK! Magazine and had prepared dishes for his celebrity friends Justin Timberlake, Mary-Kate Olsen, and former love interest Rihanna" Travis is the founder of Healthy Chic Eats, and regularly appears on the Today Show, Fox and Friends and the Suzanne Somers Show. Travis has been featured in OK! Magazine, Us Weekly, The New York Daily News, The Huffington Post, The Sun Post Weekly, Uptown Magazine, Vibe, Shape, Latina, Cosmopolitan, Venue, and the Miami Herald. Travis is a weekly contributor to OK! Magazine and in 2012 was brand ambassador for X Rated Fusion Liqueur. | London has dated Rihanna and Mary-Kate Olsen | At 16, London began throwing parties for his friends, which eventually landed him on "Page Six" as a "party-going L.A. hipster". By the time he received formal training at the French Culinary Institute, he had secured a food column in OK! Magazine and had prepared dishes for his celebrity friends Justin Timberlake, Mary-Kate Olsen, and former love interest Rihanna" Travis is the founder of Healthy Chic Eats, and regularly appears on the Today Show, Fox and Friends and the Suzanne Somers Show. Travis has been featured in OK! Magazine, Us Weekly, The New York Daily News, The Huffington Post, The Sun Post Weekly, Uptown Magazine, Vibe, Shape, Latina, Cosmopolitan, Venue, and the Miami Herald. Travis is a weekly contributor to OK! Magazine and in 2012 was brand ambassador for X Rated Fusion Liqueur.London has dated Rihanna and Mary-Kate Olsen | chefs |
| 46 | 46 | Paul Luna | Paul | Luna | M | Luna's far-flung career includes work with some of the world's finest chefs in some of the world's most reputed establishments, including Michele Attali at Petrossian in Paris, Terrance Brennan at New York City's Picholine, and Gianni Scappin of BiCE Ristorante, Milan. He also opened and ran successful establishments in Washington, Italy, and Canada. Luna's tenure with Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, Hawaii, gave him the opportunity to lead cooking classes for children through the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Maui program. | Luna was born in the Dominican Republic, and has published a bilingual children's book, "Luna Needs a Miracle/Luna Necesita un Milagro," based on his childhood efforts to learn English. His wife and partner, public relations and communications strategist Cynthia Thomet, drove with him as he bicycled across the country to promote the book in the fall of 2009. | Luna's far-flung career includes work with some of the world's finest chefs in some of the world's most reputed establishments, including Michele Attali at Petrossian in Paris, Terrance Brennan at New York City's Picholine, and Gianni Scappin of BiCE Ristorante, Milan. He also opened and ran successful establishments in Washington, Italy, and Canada. Luna's tenure with Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, Hawaii, gave him the opportunity to lead cooking classes for children through the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Maui program.Luna was born in the Dominican Republic, and has published a bilingual children's book, "Luna Needs a Miracle/Luna Necesita un Milagro," based on his childhood efforts to learn English. His wife and partner, public relations and communications strategist Cynthia Thomet, drove with him as he bicycled across the country to promote the book in the fall of 2009. | chefs |
| 47 | 47 | Christopher Maher | Christopher | Maher | M | In 1982, Maher moved to Los Angeles to pursue motion-picture roles. He changed his name from Maher Boutros to Christopher Maher. "I was typecast as a dumb Arab or a bad Arab, one or the other. It depressed me, and I just refused to do any more." He has appeared in feature films and television episodes from Taxi and Hill Street Blues to Law and Order, 24, The West Wing and NCIS. He was in the film Olive, in which he starred with Gena Rowlands. Maher was also recognized by the James Beard Foundation as one of the great regional chefs of America and has cooked at the Beard House in New York City. He runs a cooking school called "Cooking Studio Taos" plus natural and organic food venture in Taos. The food products are sold under the name "Caleb&Milo", named after their two sons. They sell their products in whole food markets and other gourmet markets. | Maher lives in Taos, New Mexico, where he runs a cooking school called "Cooking Studio Taos" with wife Valerie | In 1982, Maher moved to Los Angeles to pursue motion-picture roles. He changed his name from Maher Boutros to Christopher Maher. "I was typecast as a dumb Arab or a bad Arab, one or the other. It depressed me, and I just refused to do any more." He has appeared in feature films and television episodes from Taxi and Hill Street Blues to Law and Order, 24, The West Wing and NCIS. He was in the film Olive, in which he starred with Gena Rowlands. Maher was also recognized by the James Beard Foundation as one of the great regional chefs of America and has cooked at the Beard House in New York City. He runs a cooking school called "Cooking Studio Taos" plus natural and organic food venture in Taos. The food products are sold under the name "Caleb&Milo", named after their two sons. They sell their products in whole food markets and other gourmet markets.Maher lives in Taos, New Mexico, where he runs a cooking school called "Cooking Studio Taos" with wife Valerie | chefs |
| 48 | 48 | Wilbur Mitcham | Wilbur | Mitcham | M | Mitcham returned to Macon and landed a position as a short order cook with Len Berg's Restaurant in 1943. "Chef", as he was so affectionately known by his constituents and friends, served as the senior chef cook of Len Berg's Restaurant for over 60 years until he took ill. He cooked for Ben Hogan, Sam Snead and Joe Dimaggio. | Mitcham was married for over 60 years to Annie Mae Leonard. His daughter is Samaria (Mitcham) Bailey. Mitcham died on Father's Day 2003. Mitcham is featured in the book “Remembering Len Berg's Restaurant” Mr. Mitcham was the father of “The Gay Preacher’s Wife” author Lydia Meredith and is featured in her book. | Mitcham returned to Macon and landed a position as a short order cook with Len Berg's Restaurant in 1943. "Chef", as he was so affectionately known by his constituents and friends, served as the senior chef cook of Len Berg's Restaurant for over 60 years until he took ill. He cooked for Ben Hogan, Sam Snead and Joe Dimaggio.Mitcham was married for over 60 years to Annie Mae Leonard. His daughter is Samaria (Mitcham) Bailey. Mitcham died on Father's Day 2003. Mitcham is featured in the book “Remembering Len Berg's Restaurant” Mr. Mitcham was the father of “The Gay Preacher’s Wife” author Lydia Meredith and is featured in her book. | chefs |
| 49 | 49 | Marc Murphy | Marc | M | Murphy graduated from Fryeburg Academy in 1988 and attended school at the Institute of Culinary Education. He began his culinary career as a line cook at Prix Fixe in New York. By the mid-1990s, he was a sous-chef at Layla in New York and in 1996, became the executive chef at Cellar in the Sky, also in New York. From 1997 to 2000, he was the co-owner and executive chef of La Fourchette. In 2000, he also became the executive chef at Chinoiserie as well as the partner and co-owner of Le Couteau. In March 2004, Murphy opened his first solo enterprise, Landmarc. Following its success, Murphy opened Ditch Plains in the West Village in 2006. In 2007, Murphy was given the opportunity to open another Landmarc restaurant in the Time Warner Center. In October 2013, Murphy opened Kingside at the Viceroy Hotel. Inn the fall 2015, Murphy opened Grey Salt, a Mediterranean-inspired restaurant at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tampa. In addition to the restaurants, Murphy also operates a catering company. Murphy has served in a regular role as a judge on Chopped, and has made appearances on Iron Chef America, Guy's Grocery Games, Beat Bobby Flay, Unique Eats, The Best Thing I Ever Ate, The Best Thing I Ever Made, Rachael Ray and Today, among others. He is the president of the Manhattan chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association.. In 2012, Murphy joined the United States Department of State's Diplomatic Culinary Partnership, where he takes part in public diplomacy programs that engage foreign audiences abroad as well as those visiting the United States. Murphy's debut cookbook, Season with Authority: Confident Home Cooking was released in April 2015. He recently created and published a podcast, Food 360 with Marc Murphy on June 6, 2019 in collaboration with HowStuffWorks. | The son of a "globetrotting" diplomat, Murphy has lived all over the world as a boy, in cities such as Milan, Paris, Rome, Genoa, and Washington, D.C. before the age of 12, which he says served as an excellent education in French and Italian cooking. He opened his restaurant with his wife, Pamela Schein, and resides with her and their two children, in New York City. In a question and answer interview with The New York Times, Murphy has also attributed his cooking influences to his mother and grandparents, as he has recounted experiences of enjoying leg of lamb and ratatouille in the south of France. He has also credited French chef Jean-Louis Palladin's first cookbook for having the biggest impact on him, as well as the "strength" and "leadership" of Winston Churchill's My Early Life. | Murphy graduated from Fryeburg Academy in 1988 and attended school at the Institute of Culinary Education. He began his culinary career as a line cook at Prix Fixe in New York. By the mid-1990s, he was a sous-chef at Layla in New York and in 1996, became the executive chef at Cellar in the Sky, also in New York. From 1997 to 2000, he was the co-owner and executive chef of La Fourchette. In 2000, he also became the executive chef at Chinoiserie as well as the partner and co-owner of Le Couteau. In March 2004, Murphy opened his first solo enterprise, Landmarc. Following its success, Murphy opened Ditch Plains in the West Village in 2006. In 2007, Murphy was given the opportunity to open another Landmarc restaurant in the Time Warner Center. In October 2013, Murphy opened Kingside at the Viceroy Hotel. Inn the fall 2015, Murphy opened Grey Salt, a Mediterranean-inspired restaurant at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tampa. In addition to the restaurants, Murphy also operates a catering company. Murphy has served in a regular role as a judge on Chopped, and has made appearances on Iron Chef America, Guy's Grocery Games, Beat Bobby Flay, Unique Eats, The Best Thing I Ever Ate, The Best Thing I Ever Made, Rachael Ray and Today, among others. He is the president of the Manhattan chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association.. In 2012, Murphy joined the United States Department of State's Diplomatic Culinary Partnership, where he takes part in public diplomacy programs that engage foreign audiences abroad as well as those visiting the United States. Murphy's debut cookbook, Season with Authority: Confident Home Cooking was released in April 2015. He recently created and published a podcast, Food 360 with Marc Murphy on June 6, 2019 in collaboration with HowStuffWorks.The son of a "globetrotting" diplomat, Murphy has lived all over the world as a boy, in cities such as Milan, Paris, Rome, Genoa, and Washington, D.C. before the age of 12, which he says served as an excellent education in French and Italian co… | chefs | |
| 50 | 50 | Gordon Naccarato | Gordon | Naccarato | M | Naccarato started working for Michael's in Santa Monica in 1979. While there, he received Food & Wine Best New Chef award in 1988. Gordon Naccarato and his wife Rebecca Naccarato opened Gordon's Restaurant and Rebecca's Bakery in Aspen, Colorado in 1984. Naccarato and his wife were divorced; she worked at a grill in Kirkland and opened a Seattle restaurant with brother Tim Towner in 1990; and he moved back to Tacoma in July 2001, after working under Mark Peel of Campanile and in other Los Angeles restaurants including Monkey Bar and Le Colonial in the 1990s. He started the Beach House restaurant in Purdy in 2002. In Tacoma, Naccarato is president of Naccarato Restaurant Group, which operates Pacific Grill. He opened Smoke + Cedar restaurant in 2014. The Classics Cafe at America's Car Museum is owned by Naccarato. His brother Steve opened Shake Shake Shake in Tacoma. In September 2020, Naccarato announced the closure of the Naccarato Restaurant Group permanently closing Pacific Grill restaurant and Pacific Grill Events & Catering. The reasoning was due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on business. | Naccarato was profiled as a prominent openly gay businessperson by The Advocate in 2013. | Naccarato started working for Michael's in Santa Monica in 1979. While there, he received Food & Wine Best New Chef award in 1988. Gordon Naccarato and his wife Rebecca Naccarato opened Gordon's Restaurant and Rebecca's Bakery in Aspen, Colorado in 1984. Naccarato and his wife were divorced; she worked at a grill in Kirkland and opened a Seattle restaurant with brother Tim Towner in 1990; and he moved back to Tacoma in July 2001, after working under Mark Peel of Campanile and in other Los Angeles restaurants including Monkey Bar and Le Colonial in the 1990s. He started the Beach House restaurant in Purdy in 2002. In Tacoma, Naccarato is president of Naccarato Restaurant Group, which operates Pacific Grill. He opened Smoke + Cedar restaurant in 2014. The Classics Cafe at America's Car Museum is owned by Naccarato. His brother Steve opened Shake Shake Shake in Tacoma. In September 2020, Naccarato announced the closure of the Naccarato Restaurant Group permanently closing Pacific Grill restaurant and Pacific Grill Events & Catering. The reasoning was due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on business.Naccarato was profiled as a prominent openly gay businessperson by The Advocate in 2013. | chefs |
| 51 | 51 | Bradley Ogden | Bradley | Ogden | M | Ogden graduated the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, New York in 1977 with honors. He was the recipient of the Richard T. Keating Award, given to the student most likely succeed. In 1979, Ogden was hired as a sous chef at the celebrated American Restaurant in Kansas City. He worked closely with his friend and mentor James Beard and his consultants Joe Baun and Barbara Kafka. Ogden was promoted to executive chef within six months. Chef Ogden says the greatest influence on his cooking came from his early exposure to fresh Native American foods. Born in Traverse City, he grew up eating freshly caught trout, free-range chicken and hand-picked fruits and vegetables. That early exposure followed him throughout his culinary training and while he was exposed to new techniques and ingredients, he never lost his deep appreciation for those basic tastes.In 1983, Ogden became the executive chef at the Campton Place hotel and transformed it to a destination dining spot. After six years he opened the Lark Creek Inn, a signature restaurant in Larkspur with his then-wife Jody Ogden and his business partners Michael and Leslye Dellar. There are currently 14 restaurants which the Lark Creek Restaurant Group encompasses. This restaurant had been acclaimed by leading critics and publications as one of the best restaurants in the nation. In 2003, Ogden moved to Las Vegas and opened his restaurant in Caesars Palace with his son Bryan, who is also a chef. This was Ogden's first restaurant opened outside of California. Both restaurants has since closed. He has appeared on such television programs as the Today Show, Good Morning, America, AM/San Francisco, Dinner at Julia's and Great Chefs of the West series on the Discovery Channel. In 2012, Ogden launched Bradley Ogden Hospitality, a four-pronged business venture seeking to encompass restaurants, consulting, social media and even a boutique resort community. Ogden started Bradley Ogden Hospitality with his son Bryan Ogden and operations specialist Tony Angotti. Bradley Ogden… | Ogden currently resides in California. He has three sons; Bryan, Chad (also a chef at a Macau resort) and Cory who is a doctor in Woodland Hills. | Ogden graduated the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, New York in 1977 with honors. He was the recipient of the Richard T. Keating Award, given to the student most likely succeed. In 1979, Ogden was hired as a sous chef at the celebrated American Restaurant in Kansas City. He worked closely with his friend and mentor James Beard and his consultants Joe Baun and Barbara Kafka. Ogden was promoted to executive chef within six months. Chef Ogden says the greatest influence on his cooking came from his early exposure to fresh Native American foods. Born in Traverse City, he grew up eating freshly caught trout, free-range chicken and hand-picked fruits and vegetables. That early exposure followed him throughout his culinary training and while he was exposed to new techniques and ingredients, he never lost his deep appreciation for those basic tastes.In 1983, Ogden became the executive chef at the Campton Place hotel and transformed it to a destination dining spot. After six years he opened the Lark Creek Inn, a signature restaurant in Larkspur with his then-wife Jody Ogden and his business partners Michael and Leslye Dellar. There are currently 14 restaurants which the Lark Creek Restaurant Group encompasses. This restaurant had been acclaimed by leading critics and publications as one of the best restaurants in the nation. In 2003, Ogden moved to Las Vegas and opened his restaurant in Caesars Palace with his son Bryan, who is also a chef. This was Ogden's first restaurant opened outside of California. Both restaurants has since closed. He has appeared on such television programs as the Today Show, Good Morning, America, AM/San Francisco, Dinner at Julia's and Great Chefs of the West series on the Discovery Channel. In 2012, Ogden launched Bradley Ogden Hospitality, a four-pronged business venture seeking to encompass restaurants, consulting, social media and even a boutique resort community. Ogden started Bradley Ogden Hospitality with his son Bryan Ogden and operations specialist Tony Angotti. Bradley Ogden… | chefs |
| 52 | 52 | Mark Peel | Mark | M | In October 1975, Peel began as an apprentice under Wolfgang Puck at Ma Maison. In 1978, Peel did an estage stint in France at La Tour d'Argent, Potel et Chabot, and Moulin de Mougins. When Michael's opened in 1979 in Santa Monica, he became sous chef, first under Ken Frank and then under Jonathan Waxman. In 1980, Peel moved to Alice Waters' Chez Panisse to make pastries, then assumed the role of chef de cuisine at the original Spago in 1981. In 1989, Peel co-founded Los Angeles’ Campanile restaurant with Nancy Silverton, his wife at that time. "The storied restaurant, with its distinctly American approach using top-quality farmers' market ingredients, helped set the tone for Los Angeles dining in the 1990s," wrote Betty Hallock. For more than two decades Peel served as Executive Chef at Campanile, where food critic Jonathan Gold observed that "... Peel is still the most exacting grill chef in the country, a master who plays his smoldering logs the way that Pinchas Zukerman does a Stradivarius." Campanile closed in 2012. To provide the breads they needed, Peel and Silverton also co-founded La Brea Bakery, which opened five months before Campanile restaurant launched. La Brea Bakery was sold in 2001 and is now a worldwide company. Peel's Tar Pit, a cocktail lounge, and Point, a deli, also closed in 2012. Peel has authored three cookbooks (two with ex-wife Nancy Silverton). His cookbook, New Classic Family Dinners, written with Martha Rose Shulman was selected as one of the Top Ten Cookbooks of 2009 by Amazon and one of the Top 25 Cookbooks of 2009 by Food & Wine magazine. Though Peel is known for his Mediterranean fare, the book is a collection of his favorite traditional American cuisine recipes. Mark Peel has appeared twice as a contestant on Top Chef Masters and twice as a judge Top Chef in 2009 and 2010, and appeared on several iterations of Hell's Kitchen, Knife Fight, and Kitchen Nightmares. On occasion, he joins programs on the Food Network, Hallmark Network and others to demonstrate food preparations. Chef… | From 1979 to 1982, Peel was married to the artist Reine River. From 1984 to 2004, Peel was married to Silverton with whom he has three children. Peel is married to comedian Daphne Brogdan. They have two children. Peel lost money in the Madoff investment scandal through Stanley Chais, who collected "feeder funds" for Bernie Madoff. | In October 1975, Peel began as an apprentice under Wolfgang Puck at Ma Maison. In 1978, Peel did an estage stint in France at La Tour d'Argent, Potel et Chabot, and Moulin de Mougins. When Michael's opened in 1979 in Santa Monica, he became sous chef, first under Ken Frank and then under Jonathan Waxman. In 1980, Peel moved to Alice Waters' Chez Panisse to make pastries, then assumed the role of chef de cuisine at the original Spago in 1981. In 1989, Peel co-founded Los Angeles’ Campanile restaurant with Nancy Silverton, his wife at that time. "The storied restaurant, with its distinctly American approach using top-quality farmers' market ingredients, helped set the tone for Los Angeles dining in the 1990s," wrote Betty Hallock. For more than two decades Peel served as Executive Chef at Campanile, where food critic Jonathan Gold observed that "... Peel is still the most exacting grill chef in the country, a master who plays his smoldering logs the way that Pinchas Zukerman does a Stradivarius." Campanile closed in 2012. To provide the breads they needed, Peel and Silverton also co-founded La Brea Bakery, which opened five months before Campanile restaurant launched. La Brea Bakery was sold in 2001 and is now a worldwide company. Peel's Tar Pit, a cocktail lounge, and Point, a deli, also closed in 2012. Peel has authored three cookbooks (two with ex-wife Nancy Silverton). His cookbook, New Classic Family Dinners, written with Martha Rose Shulman was selected as one of the Top Ten Cookbooks of 2009 by Amazon and one of the Top 25 Cookbooks of 2009 by Food & Wine magazine. Though Peel is known for his Mediterranean fare, the book is a collection of his favorite traditional American cuisine recipes. Mark Peel has appeared twice as a contestant on Top Chef Masters and twice as a judge Top Chef in 2009 and 2010, and appeared on several iterations of Hell's Kitchen, Knife Fight, and Kitchen Nightmares. On occasion, he joins programs on the Food Network, Hallmark Network and others to demonstrate food preparations. Chef… | chefs | |
| 53 | 53 | Paul Prudhomme | Paul | Prudhomme | M | Prudhomme opened his first restaurant in Opelousas in 1957, a hamburger restaurant called Big Daddy O's Patio. The restaurant went out of business in nine months, which also saw the end of his first marriage. He became a magazine seller initially in New Orleans, and afterwards several restaurant jobs took him around the country. During this period he began creating his own spice mixes and giving them away to customers. In 1970, he moved back to New Orleans to work as a sous chef at Le Pavillon Hotel. He left after a short while to open Clarence Dupuy's restaurant Maison du Puy. While there, he met his second wife, Kay Hinrichs, who worked at the restaurant as a waitress. In 1975, Prudhomme left to become the first American-born executive chef at Commander's Palace under Richard Brennan, Sr. Chef Paul turned the Garden District restaurant into a world-class destination. In 1979, he and Kay (now his wife) opened K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The restaurant was named as a portmanteau of their names, with Paul working as head chef and Kay as restaurant manager. For a while he attempted to operate the restaurant while still working at Commander's Palace, but the demand in his new restaurant was such that he moved to work there full-time, while also appointing Emeril Lagasse to take over as Executive Chef at Commanders Palace. In 1980, he was made a Chevalier (Knight) of the French Ordre National du Mérite Agricole in honor of his work with Cajun and Creole cuisines. His cookbook, Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen, was published by William Morrow and Company in 1984. It was given a Culinary Classic Book Award in 1989 by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Prudhomme has been credited with having popularized cajun cuisine and in particular blackened redfish during the 1980s. The popularity of the fish was such that commercial fishing of the species was restricted to prevent its extinction. Prudhomme was also credited with introducing the turducken into United State… | In 1986, Prudhomme's wife, Kay, was diagnosed with lung cancer. She died seven years later on December 31, 1993. One of his students was Aaron Sanchez, who moved from New York to become an apprentice when Sanchez was 16. Prudhomme had a long-running issue with his weight, resulting in his working from an electric wheelchair on occasion. In order to lose weight, he wrote his 1993 cookbook, Chef Paul Prudhomme's Fork in the Road, which he deliberately avoided marketing as a low-fat cookbook in order to prevent customers from being put off by the premise after testing the recipes at K-Paul's Kitchen in New Orleans. In March 2008, Prudhomme was grazed by a .22-caliber stray bullet while catering the Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament. He at first thought a bee had stung his arm, required no serious medical attention, and within five minutes was back to cooking for the golf tournament. It was thought to have been a falling bullet. Dom DeLuise was also a friend and self-proclaimed "look-alike." Prudhomme died in New Orleans on October 8, 2015, after a brief illness. He was 75. | Prudhomme opened his first restaurant in Opelousas in 1957, a hamburger restaurant called Big Daddy O's Patio. The restaurant went out of business in nine months, which also saw the end of his first marriage. He became a magazine seller initially in New Orleans, and afterwards several restaurant jobs took him around the country. During this period he began creating his own spice mixes and giving them away to customers. In 1970, he moved back to New Orleans to work as a sous chef at Le Pavillon Hotel. He left after a short while to open Clarence Dupuy's restaurant Maison du Puy. While there, he met his second wife, Kay Hinrichs, who worked at the restaurant as a waitress. In 1975, Prudhomme left to become the first American-born executive chef at Commander's Palace under Richard Brennan, Sr. Chef Paul turned the Garden District restaurant into a world-class destination. In 1979, he and Kay (now his wife) opened K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The restaurant was named as a portmanteau of their names, with Paul working as head chef and Kay as restaurant manager. For a while he attempted to operate the restaurant while still working at Commander's Palace, but the demand in his new restaurant was such that he moved to work there full-time, while also appointing Emeril Lagasse to take over as Executive Chef at Commanders Palace. In 1980, he was made a Chevalier (Knight) of the French Ordre National du Mérite Agricole in honor of his work with Cajun and Creole cuisines. His cookbook, Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen, was published by William Morrow and Company in 1984. It was given a Culinary Classic Book Award in 1989 by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Prudhomme has been credited with having popularized cajun cuisine and in particular blackened redfish during the 1980s. The popularity of the fish was such that commercial fishing of the species was restricted to prevent its extinction. Prudhomme was also credited with introducing the turducken into United State… | chefs |
| 54 | 54 | Wolfgang Puck | Wolfgang | Puck | M | Puck was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, Carinthia, Austria. He learned cooking from his mother, who was a pastry chef. He took the surname of his stepfather, Josef Puck, after his mother's remarriage. He trained as an apprentice under Raymond Thuilier at L'Oustau de Baumanière in Les Baux-de-Provence, at Hôtel de Paris in Monaco, and at Maxim's Paris before moving to the United States in 1973 at age 24. After two years at La Tour in Indianapolis, Puck moved to Los Angeles to become chef and part owner of Ma Maison restaurant. Following the 1981 publication of his first cookbook, Modern French Cooking for the American Kitchen, which was based on his Ma Maison recipes, Puck opened the restaurant Spago on the Sunset Strip in 1982. Fifteen years later, in 1997, Puck and Barbara Lazaroff, his wife and business partner, moved the award-winning Spago to Beverly Hills. It has been recognized as one of the Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S. since 2004. The Infatuation wrote that "Spago made Wolfgang Puck the first (and maybe only) chef you and your grandma know by name." His success enabled him to launch the Wolfgang Puck Companies which includes the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, Inc. and Wolfgang Puck Catering. The Wolfgang Puck Companies encompass over 20 fine dining restaurants, among the top 40 Restaurants in the U.S., premium catering services, more than 80 Wolfgang Puck Express operations, and kitchen and food merchandise, including cookbooks, canned foods, and coffee products. He is the official caterer for the Academy Awards Governors Ball, and has parlayed his celebrity into acting; his credits include Frasier, a recurring role as himself on Las Vegas and a cameo appearance in The Weather Man. He also appeared as himself on Iron Chef America: Battle of the Masters, as well as Cooking Class with Wolfgang Puck on The Food Network, and in an American Idol season finale episode where he introduced unusual foods to Kellie Pickler in comic relief segments. He was featured as a guest judge on Se… | Wolfgang Puck married Marie France Trouillot in 1975. They were divorced in 1980. He married Barbara Lazaroff in 1983, with whom he has two sons, Cameron and Byron. They were divorced in 2003. Barbara Lazaroff continues to play a key role in his restaurants and has been instrumental in their interior design. She is listed by the company as co-founder. In 2007 he married designer Gelila Assefa in Capri, Italy. They currently live in Los Angeles and have two sons: Oliver and Alexander. His favorite food is macarons. | Puck was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, Carinthia, Austria. He learned cooking from his mother, who was a pastry chef. He took the surname of his stepfather, Josef Puck, after his mother's remarriage. He trained as an apprentice under Raymond Thuilier at L'Oustau de Baumanière in Les Baux-de-Provence, at Hôtel de Paris in Monaco, and at Maxim's Paris before moving to the United States in 1973 at age 24. After two years at La Tour in Indianapolis, Puck moved to Los Angeles to become chef and part owner of Ma Maison restaurant. Following the 1981 publication of his first cookbook, Modern French Cooking for the American Kitchen, which was based on his Ma Maison recipes, Puck opened the restaurant Spago on the Sunset Strip in 1982. Fifteen years later, in 1997, Puck and Barbara Lazaroff, his wife and business partner, moved the award-winning Spago to Beverly Hills. It has been recognized as one of the Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S. since 2004. The Infatuation wrote that "Spago made Wolfgang Puck the first (and maybe only) chef you and your grandma know by name." His success enabled him to launch the Wolfgang Puck Companies which includes the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, Inc. and Wolfgang Puck Catering. The Wolfgang Puck Companies encompass over 20 fine dining restaurants, among the top 40 Restaurants in the U.S., premium catering services, more than 80 Wolfgang Puck Express operations, and kitchen and food merchandise, including cookbooks, canned foods, and coffee products. He is the official caterer for the Academy Awards Governors Ball, and has parlayed his celebrity into acting; his credits include Frasier, a recurring role as himself on Las Vegas and a cameo appearance in The Weather Man. He also appeared as himself on Iron Chef America: Battle of the Masters, as well as Cooking Class with Wolfgang Puck on The Food Network, and in an American Idol season finale episode where he introduced unusual foods to Kellie Pickler in comic relief segments. He was featured as a guest judge on Se… | chefs |
| 55 | 55 | Steven Raichlen | Steven | Raichlen | M | Raichlen created the TV show Barbecue University (aka BBQ U), which aired for four seasons from 2003 to 2006 on American Public Television. From 2008 to 2010 he hosted Primal Grill, again on American Public Television. Primal Grill focused on the "how-tos" of live fire cooking, employing different grills for each technique. In 2015, he created Project Smoke on public television, focusing on traditional and cutting-edge techniques in smoked food. and more recently Steven Raichlen's Project Fire. Raichlen also hosts the French-language TV shows Le Maitre du Grill and Les Incontourables du BBQ on Zeste in Quebec. His Steven Raichlen Grills Italy show was launched on Gambero Rosso Channel in Italy in 2018. He battled and defeated Iron Chef Rokusaburo Michiba in a "Battle of the Barbecue Gods" on Japanese television. He has appeared on numerous television programs and networks including Good Morning America, The Today Show, CBS This Morning, Discovery Channel, Oprah, Regis & Kelly, The View and CNN. | Raichlen's wife is Barbara Raichlen. They live in Coconut Grove, Florida and Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. | Raichlen created the TV show Barbecue University (aka BBQ U), which aired for four seasons from 2003 to 2006 on American Public Television. From 2008 to 2010 he hosted Primal Grill, again on American Public Television. Primal Grill focused on the "how-tos" of live fire cooking, employing different grills for each technique. In 2015, he created Project Smoke on public television, focusing on traditional and cutting-edge techniques in smoked food. and more recently Steven Raichlen's Project Fire. Raichlen also hosts the French-language TV shows Le Maitre du Grill and Les Incontourables du BBQ on Zeste in Quebec. His Steven Raichlen Grills Italy show was launched on Gambero Rosso Channel in Italy in 2018. He battled and defeated Iron Chef Rokusaburo Michiba in a "Battle of the Barbecue Gods" on Japanese television. He has appeared on numerous television programs and networks including Good Morning America, The Today Show, CBS This Morning, Discovery Channel, Oprah, Regis & Kelly, The View and CNN.Raichlen's wife is Barbara Raichlen. They live in Coconut Grove, Florida and Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. | chefs |
| 56 | 56 | Kent Rathbun | Kent | Rathbun | M | Rathbun entered the food industry at age 14, washing dishes at a local Sambo's, a job for which he had lied about his age, claiming to be one year older. By the end of his first day as a dishwasher, he had asked to help the night cook, who within three weeks recommended that Rathbun be promoted to the cooking station. At age 17, he was working as an apprentice in the 5-star dining room of Kansas City's La Bonne Auberge restaurant, where his mother worked as a maitre d'. The fine dining experience changed his culinary tastes, causing him to come home determined to educate the experienced cooks in his household: "When I started learning how to work with fresh vegetables and snails and foie gras, that's when my taste just exploded. I told my mother, `I can't believe it. All those things you and Grandma have been cooking all these years - you've been overcookin' 'em.'" After running a catering service for the Dallas Museum of Art and serving as sous chef in Dallas' The Mansion on Turtle Creek, Rathbun decided in 1999 to open his own restaurant Abacus. Shortly thereafter, in 2003 he opened Jasper's in Plano. Both establishments were opened as smoke-free restaurants prior to Dallas' enacting a ban on public smoking, and Rathbun has been active in efforts to ban smoking in restaurants statewide. Zagat rated Abacus highly in 2008 as well as in 2007, granting the restaurant a rating of 28 points (on a scale of 30) for its food and 27 for its decor and service — a rating range that the guide describes as denoting "extraordinary to perfection" — and quoting survey respondents who called Rathbun a "genius." Abacus has been awarded the Forbes Four-Star and the AAA Four Diamonds for over 14 years. Jasper's was awarded NRN Hot Concept Award and was named as having some of the top ribs in America by Bon Appetit. | Rathbun is currently married to fellow restaurateur Tracy Rathbun, co-owner of Dallas' Lovers Seafood and Shinsei restaurant with Lynne Fearing. The close ties among the four restaurateurs were highlighted in media coverage when chefs Tre Wilcox of Abacus and Casey Thompson of Shinsei were selected as contestants in the third season of the reality television program Top Chef. | Rathbun entered the food industry at age 14, washing dishes at a local Sambo's, a job for which he had lied about his age, claiming to be one year older. By the end of his first day as a dishwasher, he had asked to help the night cook, who within three weeks recommended that Rathbun be promoted to the cooking station. At age 17, he was working as an apprentice in the 5-star dining room of Kansas City's La Bonne Auberge restaurant, where his mother worked as a maitre d'. The fine dining experience changed his culinary tastes, causing him to come home determined to educate the experienced cooks in his household: "When I started learning how to work with fresh vegetables and snails and foie gras, that's when my taste just exploded. I told my mother, `I can't believe it. All those things you and Grandma have been cooking all these years - you've been overcookin' 'em.'" After running a catering service for the Dallas Museum of Art and serving as sous chef in Dallas' The Mansion on Turtle Creek, Rathbun decided in 1999 to open his own restaurant Abacus. Shortly thereafter, in 2003 he opened Jasper's in Plano. Both establishments were opened as smoke-free restaurants prior to Dallas' enacting a ban on public smoking, and Rathbun has been active in efforts to ban smoking in restaurants statewide. Zagat rated Abacus highly in 2008 as well as in 2007, granting the restaurant a rating of 28 points (on a scale of 30) for its food and 27 for its decor and service — a rating range that the guide describes as denoting "extraordinary to perfection" — and quoting survey respondents who called Rathbun a "genius." Abacus has been awarded the Forbes Four-Star and the AAA Four Diamonds for over 14 years. Jasper's was awarded NRN Hot Concept Award and was named as having some of the top ribs in America by Bon Appetit.Rathbun is currently married to fellow restaurateur Tracy Rathbun, co-owner of Dallas' Lovers Seafood and Shinsei restaurant with Lynne Fearing. The close ties among the four restaurateurs were highlighted in media covera… | chefs |
| 57 | 57 | Éric Ripert | Éric | Ripert | M | At the age of 17 in 1982 he moved to Paris, where he worked for two years at La Tour d'Argent, a famous restaurant that claims to be more than 400 years old. Ripert next worked at Jamin under Joël Robuchon and was soon promoted to Assistant Chef de Partie. In 1985 Ripert left to fulfill his military service, after which he returned to Jamin as Chef Poissonier. In 1989, Ripert moved to the United States and was hired as a sous chef in the Watergate Hotel's Jean Louis Palladin restaurant. Ripert moved to New York in 1991, working briefly as David Bouley's sous-chef before Maguy and Gilbert Le Coze recruited him as chef for Le Bernardin. In 1994, Ripert became Le Bernardin's executive chef after Gilbert Le Coze died unexpectedly of a heart attack. The following year, at the age of 29, Ripert earned a four-star rating from The New York Times, and in 1996 he became a part-owner. In the Michelin Guide NYC 2006, Ripert's Le Bernardin was one of four New York City restaurants to be awarded the maximum three Michelin stars for excellence in cuisine. Le Bernardin received four stars from The New York Times four consecutive times, making it the only restaurant to maintain that exquisite status for that length of time and never dropping a star in ten years. Le Bernardin is often referred to as the Temple of Seafood. Ripert is the Vice Chairman of the board of City Harvest, working to bring together New York's top chefs and restaurateurs to raise funds and increase the quality and quantity of food donations to New York's neediest. In addition, Ripert partnered with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company to open Blue in Grand Cayman.Ripert has made several guest appearances on cooking-based television shows, including guest judge and assistant chef roles on the second, third, fourth and fifth seasons of Bravo TV's "Top Chef". Chef Ripert had been considered to join season 8 of Top Chef as a permanent judge, but bowed out when his employee Jen Caroll was selected as a contestant again. Ripert was good friends with Anthony Bourdain and … | He and his wife Sandra (née Nieves) have a son. On 8 June 2018, Ripert was travelling with his friend, American TV personality and culinary connoisseur Anthony Bourdain, who was working on an episode of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown in Strasbourg, France. Ripert found Bourdain dead from an apparent suicide by hanging in Bourdain's hotel room at Kaysersberg-Vignoble. | At the age of 17 in 1982 he moved to Paris, where he worked for two years at La Tour d'Argent, a famous restaurant that claims to be more than 400 years old. Ripert next worked at Jamin under Joël Robuchon and was soon promoted to Assistant Chef de Partie. In 1985 Ripert left to fulfill his military service, after which he returned to Jamin as Chef Poissonier. In 1989, Ripert moved to the United States and was hired as a sous chef in the Watergate Hotel's Jean Louis Palladin restaurant. Ripert moved to New York in 1991, working briefly as David Bouley's sous-chef before Maguy and Gilbert Le Coze recruited him as chef for Le Bernardin. In 1994, Ripert became Le Bernardin's executive chef after Gilbert Le Coze died unexpectedly of a heart attack. The following year, at the age of 29, Ripert earned a four-star rating from The New York Times, and in 1996 he became a part-owner. In the Michelin Guide NYC 2006, Ripert's Le Bernardin was one of four New York City restaurants to be awarded the maximum three Michelin stars for excellence in cuisine. Le Bernardin received four stars from The New York Times four consecutive times, making it the only restaurant to maintain that exquisite status for that length of time and never dropping a star in ten years. Le Bernardin is often referred to as the Temple of Seafood. Ripert is the Vice Chairman of the board of City Harvest, working to bring together New York's top chefs and restaurateurs to raise funds and increase the quality and quantity of food donations to New York's neediest. In addition, Ripert partnered with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company to open Blue in Grand Cayman.Ripert has made several guest appearances on cooking-based television shows, including guest judge and assistant chef roles on the second, third, fourth and fifth seasons of Bravo TV's "Top Chef". Chef Ripert had been considered to join season 8 of Top Chef as a permanent judge, but bowed out when his employee Jen Caroll was selected as a contestant again. Ripert was good friends with Anthony Bourdain and … | chefs |
| 58 | 58 | Jeffrey Saad | Jeffrey | Saad | M | Saad became interested in the culinary business when he was a teenager working at a diner behind his junior high school. Later in his life, he enrolled in the Hotel Restaurant Management Program at Iowa State University. There he earned the title of chef de cuisine during his sophomore year. He continued studies at the Culinary Institute of America and the California Culinary Academy. He performed his internship in London, with Anton Mosimann. In 1993 Saad traveled to Mexico looking to expand his knowledge of the Mexican cuisine. This led him to open a Mexican-influenced restaurant called Sweet Heat in San Francisco. After that, he opened two more restaurants and started his own signature line of bottled chutneys. Among his culinary and business ventures, he became a partner of California's Pasta Pomodoro Italian Restaurants. After that, Saad moved to Los Angeles with his wife and they both started running a real estate company. In 2009 Saad auditioned for the fifth season of the show The Next Food Network Star. He ended up as the first runner-up, losing to Melissa d'Arabian in the finale. However, Food Network gave him the opportunity to host his own web series called Spice Smuggler, where he highlighted spices and foods from other countries. The web series ran for a year, and then Cooking Channel asked him to be the host of the show United Tastes of America. Saad is a partner and executive chef of "The Grove" restaurants in San Francisco. He also distributes his own collection of spice blends. In 2012, Saad released his first cookbook titled Jeffrey Saad's Global Kitchen: Recipes Without Borders. On December 9, 2013, he opened the restaurant, La Ventura in Studio City, California. In addition to his own shows, Saad has appeared on these other cooking shows: In 2012 he competed in Food Network's Chopped All-Stars. Saad ended up in second place, behind Marcus Samuelsson, but above chefs like Keegan Gerhard, Aarti Sequeira, and Michael Symon. | Saad lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Nadia, and two children. His wife is of Iranian descent. Saad enjoys surfing and mountain biking. He also practices taekwondo. He began practicing it while studying in college, and reached black belt under Master Brandt in San Francisco. He also practiced at the Southern California Tae Kwon Do Center under Scot Lewis where he received his second degree black belt. | Saad became interested in the culinary business when he was a teenager working at a diner behind his junior high school. Later in his life, he enrolled in the Hotel Restaurant Management Program at Iowa State University. There he earned the title of chef de cuisine during his sophomore year. He continued studies at the Culinary Institute of America and the California Culinary Academy. He performed his internship in London, with Anton Mosimann. In 1993 Saad traveled to Mexico looking to expand his knowledge of the Mexican cuisine. This led him to open a Mexican-influenced restaurant called Sweet Heat in San Francisco. After that, he opened two more restaurants and started his own signature line of bottled chutneys. Among his culinary and business ventures, he became a partner of California's Pasta Pomodoro Italian Restaurants. After that, Saad moved to Los Angeles with his wife and they both started running a real estate company. In 2009 Saad auditioned for the fifth season of the show The Next Food Network Star. He ended up as the first runner-up, losing to Melissa d'Arabian in the finale. However, Food Network gave him the opportunity to host his own web series called Spice Smuggler, where he highlighted spices and foods from other countries. The web series ran for a year, and then Cooking Channel asked him to be the host of the show United Tastes of America. Saad is a partner and executive chef of "The Grove" restaurants in San Francisco. He also distributes his own collection of spice blends. In 2012, Saad released his first cookbook titled Jeffrey Saad's Global Kitchen: Recipes Without Borders. On December 9, 2013, he opened the restaurant, La Ventura in Studio City, California. In addition to his own shows, Saad has appeared on these other cooking shows: In 2012 he competed in Food Network's Chopped All-Stars. Saad ended up in second place, behind Marcus Samuelsson, but above chefs like Keegan Gerhard, Aarti Sequeira, and Michael Symon.Saad lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Nadia, and two children. His wif… | chefs |
| 59 | 59 | Marcus Samuelsson | Marcus | Samuelsson | M | At 24, Samuelsson became executive chef of Aquavit, and soon after that became the youngest ever to receive a three-star restaurant review from The New York Times. In 2003 he was named "Best Chef: New York City" by the James Beard Foundation. The same year he started a second New York restaurant, Riingo, serving Japanese-influenced American food. In addition to his recognition as a world-class chef, Samuelsson is an award-winning cookbook author with titles in both English and Swedish. His 2006 African-inspired cookbook The Soul of a New Cuisine received the prize "Best International Cookbook" by the James Beard Foundation. Other titles written by Samuelsson are Aquavit and the New Scandinavian Cuisine, En Smakresa ("A Journey of Flavour"), and Street Food. Samuelsson is a Visiting Professor of International Culinary Science at the Umeå University School of Restaurant and Culinary Arts in Sweden. He had a television show, Inner Chef, which aired in 2005 on Discovery Home Channel and yet another program in 2008, Urban Cuisine on BET J (now Centric). His cooking combines international influences with traditional cuisines from Sweden to Japan and Africa. On 24 November 2009, Samuelsson served as guest chef for the first state dinner of the Barack Obama presidency. The dinner, in honor of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was served on the South Lawn and largely vegetarian. Samuelsson reportedly sought to combine sustainable and regional foods which reflect the best in American cuisine yet evoke the flavors of India. Harvesting fresh vegetables and herbs from the White House Garden, Samuelsson included red lentil soup, roasted potato dumplings, and green curry prawns on his menu. The tradition of guest chefs joining the White House chef for special events began during the Clinton administration. Samuelsson is an advisor to The Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. His restaurant, Red Rooster, opened in December 2010 in Harlem. In March 2011, Red Rooster hosted a fundraising dinner for the Democrat… | Samuelsson is married to the model Gate (Maya) Haile. Their wedding was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. They reside in Harlem, New York, New York, near the site of his restaurant, Red Rooster. They welcomed their son, Zion Mandela, on 19 July 2016. Samuelsson has an adult daughter, Zoe. Samuelsson serves on the board at City Harvest and serves as co-chair of the board of directors for Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP). He also has been a UNICEF ambassador since 2000, and is the co-founder, along with his wife Gate, of the Three Goats Organization. | At 24, Samuelsson became executive chef of Aquavit, and soon after that became the youngest ever to receive a three-star restaurant review from The New York Times. In 2003 he was named "Best Chef: New York City" by the James Beard Foundation. The same year he started a second New York restaurant, Riingo, serving Japanese-influenced American food. In addition to his recognition as a world-class chef, Samuelsson is an award-winning cookbook author with titles in both English and Swedish. His 2006 African-inspired cookbook The Soul of a New Cuisine received the prize "Best International Cookbook" by the James Beard Foundation. Other titles written by Samuelsson are Aquavit and the New Scandinavian Cuisine, En Smakresa ("A Journey of Flavour"), and Street Food. Samuelsson is a Visiting Professor of International Culinary Science at the Umeå University School of Restaurant and Culinary Arts in Sweden. He had a television show, Inner Chef, which aired in 2005 on Discovery Home Channel and yet another program in 2008, Urban Cuisine on BET J (now Centric). His cooking combines international influences with traditional cuisines from Sweden to Japan and Africa. On 24 November 2009, Samuelsson served as guest chef for the first state dinner of the Barack Obama presidency. The dinner, in honor of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was served on the South Lawn and largely vegetarian. Samuelsson reportedly sought to combine sustainable and regional foods which reflect the best in American cuisine yet evoke the flavors of India. Harvesting fresh vegetables and herbs from the White House Garden, Samuelsson included red lentil soup, roasted potato dumplings, and green curry prawns on his menu. The tradition of guest chefs joining the White House chef for special events began during the Clinton administration. Samuelsson is an advisor to The Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. His restaurant, Red Rooster, opened in December 2010 in Harlem. In March 2011, Red Rooster hosted a fundraising dinner for the Democrat… | chefs |
| 60 | 60 | Michael Schulson | Michael | Schulson | M | Schulson graduated from the Culinary Institute of America. He later worked as chef in several restaurants including the New York’s Peacock Alley (restaurant), Park Avenue Café, Le Bec-Fin, and Susanna Foo.In 2008, Schulson opened his first restaurant named Izakaya (a ‘’Japanese pub’’ in Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa). In 2009, Schulson opened a second restaurant named Sampan (a contemporary Asian restaurant and bar). Sampan was subsequently named one of Bon Appetit’s “Top Six places to Taste Asian Fusion,” and Schulson was named one of Esquire’s “Chefs to Watch”. In the same year he founded Graffiti Bar. In 2014, Schulson founded the Independence Beer Garden, a 20,000 square-foot open-air drinking and dining establishment. Schulson later opened the Harp & Crown restaurant located in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square. The Harp & Crown was named one of the "most beautiful restaurants of 2016" by Eater National. In 2016, Schulson founded the Double Knot restaurant in Philadelphia. The restaurant received numerous awards including “three bells” from The Philadelphia Inquirer, three stars and the title of “2016 Best New Restaurant” from Philadelphia magazine and was named one of the “15 biggest restaurant openings of 2016” by Zagat. In 2017, Schulson founded the restaurant Monkitail in Hollywood. Schulson also currently serves as chef-partner at Izakaya at Borgata in Atlantic City. He also operates the airport dining concepts Sky Asian Bistro (in Philadelphia International) and Deep Blue (at JFK International). | Michael Schulson is married to Nina Tinari. Schulson also has two sons. | Schulson graduated from the Culinary Institute of America. He later worked as chef in several restaurants including the New York’s Peacock Alley (restaurant), Park Avenue Café, Le Bec-Fin, and Susanna Foo.In 2008, Schulson opened his first restaurant named Izakaya (a ‘’Japanese pub’’ in Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa). In 2009, Schulson opened a second restaurant named Sampan (a contemporary Asian restaurant and bar). Sampan was subsequently named one of Bon Appetit’s “Top Six places to Taste Asian Fusion,” and Schulson was named one of Esquire’s “Chefs to Watch”. In the same year he founded Graffiti Bar. In 2014, Schulson founded the Independence Beer Garden, a 20,000 square-foot open-air drinking and dining establishment. Schulson later opened the Harp & Crown restaurant located in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square. The Harp & Crown was named one of the "most beautiful restaurants of 2016" by Eater National. In 2016, Schulson founded the Double Knot restaurant in Philadelphia. The restaurant received numerous awards including “three bells” from The Philadelphia Inquirer, three stars and the title of “2016 Best New Restaurant” from Philadelphia magazine and was named one of the “15 biggest restaurant openings of 2016” by Zagat. In 2017, Schulson founded the restaurant Monkitail in Hollywood. Schulson also currently serves as chef-partner at Izakaya at Borgata in Atlantic City. He also operates the airport dining concepts Sky Asian Bistro (in Philadelphia International) and Deep Blue (at JFK International).Michael Schulson is married to Nina Tinari. Schulson also has two sons. | chefs |
| 61 | 61 | Barton Seaver | Barton | Seaver | M | In 2005, Seaver returned to Washington, D.C., and worked with chef José Andrés at the restaurant Jaleo. Seaver became executive chef of Café Saint-Ex and later its sister restaurant, Bar Pilar. He was chef-owner of the sustainable seafood restaurant Hook in Georgetown in 2007. Over the course of one year, Hook served 78 species of seafood. In addition, Seaver helped launch the casual seafood eatery Tackle Box. Seaver left Hook in 2008. He became chef of a new restaurant in the Glover Park neighborhood called Blue Ridge in 2009. His work at Blue Ridge led John Mariani of Esquire Magazine to name Seaver the 2009 Chef of the Year. The designation polarized restaurant critics. Seaver left Blue Ridge in early 2010 to work on other projects. His plans for a 6,700-square-foot (620 m2) combination sustainable seafood market and restaurant in Logan Circle to be called Diamond District Seafood Company were put on hold indefinitely in 2010 due to problems with the location. In 2012, Seaver was named by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the United States Culinary Ambassador Corp. Seaver shifted his focus away from the restaurant business and toward promoting sustainability, wellness, and community as they relate to food. He sat on the board of the hunger-fighting organization D.C. Central Kitchen until 2013 and was a fellow with the Blue Ocean Institute. He also has collaborations with the School Nutrition Association and Future of Fish. Seaver received a Seafood Champion Award from Seafood Choices Alliance in 2008. He is a member of the board of L.A. Kitchen. In 2016, Seaver was a Senior Advisor, Sustainable Seafood Innovations at the University of New England. Seaver is currently the Director of the Sustainable Seafood and Health Initiative at the Center for Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts. In 2012, Seaver became the first Sustainability Fellow in Residence. Seaver became a National Geographic fellow in 2010. He developed a list of ocean friendly substit… | Seaver lives in Maine with his wife Carrie Anne and their son. | In 2005, Seaver returned to Washington, D.C., and worked with chef José Andrés at the restaurant Jaleo. Seaver became executive chef of Café Saint-Ex and later its sister restaurant, Bar Pilar. He was chef-owner of the sustainable seafood restaurant Hook in Georgetown in 2007. Over the course of one year, Hook served 78 species of seafood. In addition, Seaver helped launch the casual seafood eatery Tackle Box. Seaver left Hook in 2008. He became chef of a new restaurant in the Glover Park neighborhood called Blue Ridge in 2009. His work at Blue Ridge led John Mariani of Esquire Magazine to name Seaver the 2009 Chef of the Year. The designation polarized restaurant critics. Seaver left Blue Ridge in early 2010 to work on other projects. His plans for a 6,700-square-foot (620 m2) combination sustainable seafood market and restaurant in Logan Circle to be called Diamond District Seafood Company were put on hold indefinitely in 2010 due to problems with the location. In 2012, Seaver was named by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the United States Culinary Ambassador Corp. Seaver shifted his focus away from the restaurant business and toward promoting sustainability, wellness, and community as they relate to food. He sat on the board of the hunger-fighting organization D.C. Central Kitchen until 2013 and was a fellow with the Blue Ocean Institute. He also has collaborations with the School Nutrition Association and Future of Fish. Seaver received a Seafood Champion Award from Seafood Choices Alliance in 2008. He is a member of the board of L.A. Kitchen. In 2016, Seaver was a Senior Advisor, Sustainable Seafood Innovations at the University of New England. Seaver is currently the Director of the Sustainable Seafood and Health Initiative at the Center for Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts. In 2012, Seaver became the first Sustainability Fellow in Residence. Seaver became a National Geographic fellow in 2010. He developed a list of ocean friendly substit… | chefs |
| 62 | 62 | Sean Sherman | Sean | Sherman | M | Sherman got his first restaurant job washing dishes at 13, soon moving onto the line. He spent a summer working for the US Forest Service in the Black Hills, identifying plants. He spent most of his twenties working in a series of Minneapolis restaurants and by 27 was working as an executive chef. By 29 he was burnt out and spent some time in Mexico regrouping; while in Puerto Vallarta he spent time with some Huichol people and had an "epiphany", saying: "After seeing how the Huicholes held onto so much of their pre-European culture through artwork and food, I recognized I wanted to know my own food heritage. What did my ancestors eat before the Europeans arrived on our lands?”In 2014 Sherman founded indigenous food education business and caterer The Sioux Chef. The Washington Post called it "a homonym to another ... culinary concept", the sous-chef. He founded the nonprofit North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NĀTIFS) with his business and life partner Dana Thompson. The organization includes the Indigenous Food Lab, which works with ethnobotanists to record the earliest names of native plants. In 2017 Sherman co-authored The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen, published by the University of Minnesota, which won the 2018 James Beard Award for Best American Cookbook. In order to create the book's recipes, he interviewed older community members and searched archives for descriptions of traditional Lakota foods. Recipes in the book contain no dairy, wheat, beef, pork, or cane sugar, as these are non-indigenous ingredients, brought to North America by European colonizers. Sherman describes the recipes as "hyperlocal, ultraseasonal, uber-healthy most of all, it's utterly delicious." Publishers Weekly called the book, "an illuminating guide to Native American food that will enthrall home cooks and food historians alike." That same year he prepared a six-course dinner at the James Beard House. In 2018 he participated in a National Museum of American History roundtable at the Food History weekend event. Dur… | Sherman lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has one son. | Sherman got his first restaurant job washing dishes at 13, soon moving onto the line. He spent a summer working for the US Forest Service in the Black Hills, identifying plants. He spent most of his twenties working in a series of Minneapolis restaurants and by 27 was working as an executive chef. By 29 he was burnt out and spent some time in Mexico regrouping; while in Puerto Vallarta he spent time with some Huichol people and had an "epiphany", saying: "After seeing how the Huicholes held onto so much of their pre-European culture through artwork and food, I recognized I wanted to know my own food heritage. What did my ancestors eat before the Europeans arrived on our lands?”In 2014 Sherman founded indigenous food education business and caterer The Sioux Chef. The Washington Post called it "a homonym to another ... culinary concept", the sous-chef. He founded the nonprofit North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NĀTIFS) with his business and life partner Dana Thompson. The organization includes the Indigenous Food Lab, which works with ethnobotanists to record the earliest names of native plants. In 2017 Sherman co-authored The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen, published by the University of Minnesota, which won the 2018 James Beard Award for Best American Cookbook. In order to create the book's recipes, he interviewed older community members and searched archives for descriptions of traditional Lakota foods. Recipes in the book contain no dairy, wheat, beef, pork, or cane sugar, as these are non-indigenous ingredients, brought to North America by European colonizers. Sherman describes the recipes as "hyperlocal, ultraseasonal, uber-healthy most of all, it's utterly delicious." Publishers Weekly called the book, "an illuminating guide to Native American food that will enthrall home cooks and food historians alike." That same year he prepared a six-course dinner at the James Beard House. In 2018 he participated in a National Museum of American History roundtable at the Food History weekend event. Dur… | chefs |
| 63 | 63 | Michael Smith | Michael | M | At age seventeen, Smith started cooking in kitchens while attending art school. Within five years he was the Head Chef at a large, upscale bistro. He then enrolled at The Culinary Institute of America, where he graduated second in his class. After graduation, Smith worked in Michelin three-star restaurants in Europe, as well as kitchens in South Africa, the Caribbean, and New York City. Smith relocated to Prince Edward Island with the desire to cook sustainably by building a garden and developing partnerships with local farmers and fishermen. Smith started as a chef at The Inn at Bay Fortune in 1991. His first television show, The Inn Chef (1998), was filmed on location at the Inn, and across Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Smith lead the team that cooked for athletes in Whistler, British Columbia during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. With his wife and business partner Chastity, Smith purchased The Inn at Bay Fortune in 2015. FireWorks, the on site restaurant, practices sustainable cuisine by growing its own vegetables in the surrounding gardens and sourcing local seafood. In 2019, Smith was appointed to the Order of Canada as a member "for his contributions as a chef, entrepreneur and champion of local foods, as well as for his efforts to develop regional tourism." In the same year, the Smiths opened a sister property, The Inn at Fortune Bridge. | In 2009, Smith created a five-year scholarship for students in the Family and Nutritional Sciences Program at the University of Prince Edward Island. On August 17, 2013, Smith married Chastity Smith, a singer-songwriter, on Prince Edward Island, where they live with their three children Gabe, Ariella, and Camille. Smith is a collector of vintage maps. | At age seventeen, Smith started cooking in kitchens while attending art school. Within five years he was the Head Chef at a large, upscale bistro. He then enrolled at The Culinary Institute of America, where he graduated second in his class. After graduation, Smith worked in Michelin three-star restaurants in Europe, as well as kitchens in South Africa, the Caribbean, and New York City. Smith relocated to Prince Edward Island with the desire to cook sustainably by building a garden and developing partnerships with local farmers and fishermen. Smith started as a chef at The Inn at Bay Fortune in 1991. His first television show, The Inn Chef (1998), was filmed on location at the Inn, and across Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Smith lead the team that cooked for athletes in Whistler, British Columbia during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. With his wife and business partner Chastity, Smith purchased The Inn at Bay Fortune in 2015. FireWorks, the on site restaurant, practices sustainable cuisine by growing its own vegetables in the surrounding gardens and sourcing local seafood. In 2019, Smith was appointed to the Order of Canada as a member "for his contributions as a chef, entrepreneur and champion of local foods, as well as for his efforts to develop regional tourism." In the same year, the Smiths opened a sister property, The Inn at Fortune Bridge.In 2009, Smith created a five-year scholarship for students in the Family and Nutritional Sciences Program at the University of Prince Edward Island. On August 17, 2013, Smith married Chastity Smith, a singer-songwriter, on Prince Edward Island, where they live with their three children Gabe, Ariella, and Camille. Smith is a collector of vintage maps. | chefs | |
| 64 | 64 | Michael Symon | Michael | Symon | M | Symon cooked in the Cleveland restaurant scene, working at Player's, a Mediterranean restaurant in Lakewood. In 1993, he moved to Piccolo Mondo as chef, developing a small yet devoted following. He subsequently moved to Caxton Cafe. In February 1997, Michael and his then-fiancée (now wife), Liz Shanahan, opened Lola in Cleveland's trendy Tremont neighborhood. It is named after his aunt. At the time, the neighborhood was just beginning to be rediscovered and develop into the hipster, "go to" neighborhood that it has become. Tremont food scene pioneers Gerry Groh and Lynda Khoury had opened and grown one of the first new restaurants, named Bohemia, in Tremont. After several years of success, the couple was ready to move on to other ventures and the couple sold the space to the Symons. Lola garnered rave reviews and was named one of America's Best Restaurants in Gourmet magazine in its October 2000 issue. In 2005, he converted Lola into Lolita, and reopened Lola in downtown Cleveland the next year. On April 15, 2006, Symon opened a third restaurant, Parea, which in Greek means "a group of friends" or "company," in New York City. The restaurant, which featured upscale Greek food and was located on East 20th Street near Park Avenue, was run by Jonathon Sawyer, who tutored under Symon at Lolita. It was located next door to Gramercy Tavern. Symon partnered with Telly Hatzigeorgiou, George Pantelidis, and Peter J. Pappas. Although New York Times food critic Frank Bruni gave the food a 2-stars rating (very good), he noted that the sound level reached "piercing heights." By many accounts, the food was good, as the restaurant was even listed on "100 Tastes to Try in ’07" in Food & Wine magazine. It closed in 2007, and was acquired by Stavros Aktipis who renamed it Kellari's Parea. Symon opened Roast, a restaurant at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit, Michigan in autumn 2008. Roast was named the 2009 Restaurant of the Year by the Detroit Free Press. He opened a restaurant on July 1, 2009, called Bar Symon in Avon L… | Symon is married to Liz Symon, who has also been a collaborator on his restaurants. His wife is a vegetarian. Symon has an adult son, Kyle, who was two years old when Michael and Liz married. | Symon cooked in the Cleveland restaurant scene, working at Player's, a Mediterranean restaurant in Lakewood. In 1993, he moved to Piccolo Mondo as chef, developing a small yet devoted following. He subsequently moved to Caxton Cafe. In February 1997, Michael and his then-fiancée (now wife), Liz Shanahan, opened Lola in Cleveland's trendy Tremont neighborhood. It is named after his aunt. At the time, the neighborhood was just beginning to be rediscovered and develop into the hipster, "go to" neighborhood that it has become. Tremont food scene pioneers Gerry Groh and Lynda Khoury had opened and grown one of the first new restaurants, named Bohemia, in Tremont. After several years of success, the couple was ready to move on to other ventures and the couple sold the space to the Symons. Lola garnered rave reviews and was named one of America's Best Restaurants in Gourmet magazine in its October 2000 issue. In 2005, he converted Lola into Lolita, and reopened Lola in downtown Cleveland the next year. On April 15, 2006, Symon opened a third restaurant, Parea, which in Greek means "a group of friends" or "company," in New York City. The restaurant, which featured upscale Greek food and was located on East 20th Street near Park Avenue, was run by Jonathon Sawyer, who tutored under Symon at Lolita. It was located next door to Gramercy Tavern. Symon partnered with Telly Hatzigeorgiou, George Pantelidis, and Peter J. Pappas. Although New York Times food critic Frank Bruni gave the food a 2-stars rating (very good), he noted that the sound level reached "piercing heights." By many accounts, the food was good, as the restaurant was even listed on "100 Tastes to Try in ’07" in Food & Wine magazine. It closed in 2007, and was acquired by Stavros Aktipis who renamed it Kellari's Parea. Symon opened Roast, a restaurant at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit, Michigan in autumn 2008. Roast was named the 2009 Restaurant of the Year by the Detroit Free Press. He opened a restaurant on July 1, 2009, called Bar Symon in Avon L… | chefs |
| 65 | 65 | Bryant Terry | Bryant | Terry | M | In 2001, Terry founded b-healthy! (Build Healthy Eating And Lifestyles To Help Youth), a five-year initiative created to raise awareness about food justice issues and empower youth to be active in creating a more just and sustainable food system. In 2002 he received a Community Fellowship from the Open Society Institute (Soros Foundation) to support b-healthy's work, in which he led chef-educators Ludie Minaya, Elizabeth Johnson, and Latham Thomas in reaching out to thousands of youth in the United States. In the spring of 2003, Terry met author Anna Lappé. That fall they began writing a Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen (.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background-image:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png");background-image:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg");background-repeat:no-repeat;background-size:9px;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background-image:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png");background-image:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg");background-repeat:no-repeat;background-size:9px;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background-image:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png");background-image:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg");background-repeat:no-repeat;backgro… | Terry married Jidan Koon, an organizational development consultant, in September 2010. They reside in Oakland, California with their children. | In 2001, Terry founded b-healthy! (Build Healthy Eating And Lifestyles To Help Youth), a five-year initiative created to raise awareness about food justice issues and empower youth to be active in creating a more just and sustainable food system. In 2002 he received a Community Fellowship from the Open Society Institute (Soros Foundation) to support b-healthy's work, in which he led chef-educators Ludie Minaya, Elizabeth Johnson, and Latham Thomas in reaching out to thousands of youth in the United States. In the spring of 2003, Terry met author Anna Lappé. That fall they began writing a Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen (.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background-image:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png");background-image:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg");background-repeat:no-repeat;background-size:9px;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background-image:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png");background-image:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg");background-repeat:no-repeat;background-size:9px;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background-image:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png");background-image:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg");background-repeat:no-repeat;backgro… | chefs |
| 66 | 66 | Roberto Treviño | Roberto | Treviño | M | Treviño moved to Puerto Rico in the early 1990s to work as a chef for the inauguration of the El Conquistador Resort in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. In 1996 he quit his job at El Conquistador to open The Parrot Club, a Nuevo Latino restaurant in Old San Juan, where he served as Executive Chef. Following the success of The Parrot Club, Treviño opened two more restaurants in Old San Juan: Dragonfly (2000), specializing in Latin-Asian Cuisine, and Aguaviva (2002), a seafood restaurant. In 2007, Treviño stepped down as Executive Chef of the three restaurants in Old San Juan and opened the 5,000 square foot Latin-Asian Budatai in Condado as Chef / Owner. He has since opened three more locales of his own in Condado: Bar Gitano which features Spanish tapas and paellas, local watering hole El Barril, and his latest, the 16,000 square foot "criollo kitchen" Casa Lola. His fifth restaurant in Puerto Rico, Rosa Mexicano, a collaboration with NYC restaurateur Howard Greenstone, is set to open in early 2013. Treviño has cooked dinner at the James Beard Foundation house in New York, & Orlando for their award events, is frequently featured as a guest chef in food events throughout the US and the Caribbean, including the Aspen Food & Wine Classic, Telluride Culinary Festival and the St Croix Food and Wine Festival, and has served as guest chef on Celebrity Cruise Lines ships on several occasions. He has made numerous television appearances both in Puerto Rico and the US, including a battle against renowned Chef Mario Batali on Iron Chef: America, as a contestant on The Next Iron Chef, with Rachael Ray on her show $40 a Day, as well as on his own local shows Kandela and the currently running 4 Minutos con Chef Treviño on WIPR-TV. In late 2011 Treviño launched CookShop, a production company specializing in television production and live events. Up to date CookShop has produced Treviño's series 4 Minutos con Chef Treviño and presented the Food & Fashion Festival, a once a year event which was attended by more than 3,000 guests on its i… | Treviño was born and raised in Sunnyvale, California. He became fascinated with the kitchen when he began working as a young cook in the San Francisco Bay Area while he was still in high school. | Treviño was born and raised in Sunnyvale, California. He became fascinated with the kitchen when he began working as a young cook in the San Francisco Bay Area while he was still in high school.Treviño moved to Puerto Rico in the early 1990s to work as a chef for the inauguration of the El Conquistador Resort in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. In 1996 he quit his job at El Conquistador to open The Parrot Club, a Nuevo Latino restaurant in Old San Juan, where he served as Executive Chef. Following the success of The Parrot Club, Treviño opened two more restaurants in Old San Juan: Dragonfly (2000), specializing in Latin-Asian Cuisine, and Aguaviva (2002), a seafood restaurant. In 2007, Treviño stepped down as Executive Chef of the three restaurants in Old San Juan and opened the 5,000 square foot Latin-Asian Budatai in Condado as Chef / Owner. He has since opened three more locales of his own in Condado: Bar Gitano which features Spanish tapas and paellas, local watering hole El Barril, and his latest, the 16,000 square foot "criollo kitchen" Casa Lola. His fifth restaurant in Puerto Rico, Rosa Mexicano, a collaboration with NYC restaurateur Howard Greenstone, is set to open in early 2013. Treviño has cooked dinner at the James Beard Foundation house in New York, & Orlando for their award events, is frequently featured as a guest chef in food events throughout the US and the Caribbean, including the Aspen Food & Wine Classic, Telluride Culinary Festival and the St Croix Food and Wine Festival, and has served as guest chef on Celebrity Cruise Lines ships on several occasions. He has made numerous television appearances both in Puerto Rico and the US, including a battle against renowned Chef Mario Batali on Iron Chef: America, as a contestant on The Next Iron Chef, with Rachael Ray on her show $40 a Day, as well as on his own local shows Kandela and the currently running 4 Minutos con Chef Treviño on WIPR-TV. In late 2011 Treviño launched CookShop, a production company specializing in television production and live events.… | chefs |
| 67 | 67 | Charlie Trotter | Charlie | Trotter | M | For five years after college, he worked and studied in Chicago, San Francisco (at the California Culinary Academy), Florida and Europe. He opened his first restaurant in Chicago with his father, Bob Trotter, as his partner. Trotter was the host of the 1999 PBS cooking show The Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter, in which he details his recipes and cooking techniques. He likened cooking to an improvisational jazz session in that as two riffs will never be the same, so too with food. He also wrote 14 cookbooks and three management books, and promoted a line of organic and all-natural gourmet foods distributed nationally. Trotter was involved with his philanthropic Charlie Trotter Culinary Education Foundation and other causes. He was awarded the Humanitarian of the Year award in 2005 by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. He invited groups of public high school students into his restaurant as part of his Excellence Program two to three times per week: after eating a meal, the students were told how the food was prepared and the motivations of those preparing it. Trotter also was unusual among celebrity chefs for his outspokenness in matters of ethics, most famously when he took foie gras off the menu in 2002 for ethical reasons. However, Trotter refused to be associated with the animal rights group Farm Sanctuary stating, "These people are idiots. Understand my position: I have nothing to do with a group like that. I think they're pathetic. … ome of their tactics are crude and uncivilized even." Trotter made a cameo appearance in the 1997 film My Best Friend's Wedding, screaming at an assistant, "I will kill your whole family if you don't get this right! I need this perfect!" a parody of a stereotypical screaming angry chef. | Trotter married his first wife, Lisa Ehrlich, on August 31, 1986. They met in 1981 at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Lisa helped open the restaurant and served as its first dining room manager and wine director until the couple divorced in August 1990. Trotter's second marriage, to Lynn Thomas, produced a son, Dylan, who was 21 or 22 years old at his father's death. In February 2010, Trotter married girlfriend Rochelle Smith, who later became his publicist. | For five years after college, he worked and studied in Chicago, San Francisco (at the California Culinary Academy), Florida and Europe. He opened his first restaurant in Chicago with his father, Bob Trotter, as his partner. Trotter was the host of the 1999 PBS cooking show The Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter, in which he details his recipes and cooking techniques. He likened cooking to an improvisational jazz session in that as two riffs will never be the same, so too with food. He also wrote 14 cookbooks and three management books, and promoted a line of organic and all-natural gourmet foods distributed nationally. Trotter was involved with his philanthropic Charlie Trotter Culinary Education Foundation and other causes. He was awarded the Humanitarian of the Year award in 2005 by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. He invited groups of public high school students into his restaurant as part of his Excellence Program two to three times per week: after eating a meal, the students were told how the food was prepared and the motivations of those preparing it. Trotter also was unusual among celebrity chefs for his outspokenness in matters of ethics, most famously when he took foie gras off the menu in 2002 for ethical reasons. However, Trotter refused to be associated with the animal rights group Farm Sanctuary stating, "These people are idiots. Understand my position: I have nothing to do with a group like that. I think they're pathetic. … ome of their tactics are crude and uncivilized even." Trotter made a cameo appearance in the 1997 film My Best Friend's Wedding, screaming at an assistant, "I will kill your whole family if you don't get this right! I need this perfect!" a parody of a stereotypical screaming angry chef.Trotter married his first wife, Lisa Ehrlich, on August 31, 1986. They met in 1981 at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Lisa helped open the restaurant and served as its first dining room manager and wine director until the couple divorced in August 1990. Trotter's seco… | chefs |
| 68 | 68 | Buddy Valastro | Buddy | Valastro | M | Valastro is the owner and head baker of Carlo's Bakery, the bakery featured on the TLC show Cake Boss. Carlo's has since opened 17 more bakeries due to the popularity of the show. In January 2012, as a result of the attention that the shop and the TV series had brought to the city of Hoboken, the Hudson Reporter named Valastro as an honorable mention in its list of Hudson County's 50 most influential people. Carlo's Bakery has seven locations in New Jersey—Hoboken, Marlton, Morristown, Red Bank, Ridgewood, Wayne, and Westfield. Outside of New Jersey, the bakery operates locations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Westbury and New York, New York; Orlando, Florida; Frisco, Dallas, and The Woodlands, Texas; São Paulo, Brazil; Uncasville, Connecticut; Las Vegas and most recently in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Lackawanna Factory in nearby Jersey City serves as the corporate office for the business and is used as additional space to create wedding and specialty cakes, and to bake specialty baked goods for shipment across the country. Valastro launched an event planning and catering company, Buddy V's Events, in June 2014. In 2016 Valastro partnered with Whole Earth Sweetener Co. on the campaign "Rethink Sweet." The company said Valastro would serve as brand ambassador for a "new line of zero- and lower-calorie sweeteners, and will work to help his fans make healthy lifestyle choices", as provide recipes using the product. In 2018 Valastro partnered with The Pound Bakery, a pet treat manufacturing company to redesign and launch a new line of pet treats. "We wanted to create palatable treats for dogs that are inspired by classic Italian entrees and desserts," said Lexie Berglund, President of The Pound Bakery. Buddy also worked with several other companies to launch a full line of ready-to-use fondant, buttercream icing, and Italian Biscotti cookies under the new brand name Buddy Valastro Foods in 2018. Valastro, a supporter of the Special Olympics, baked a commemorative cake for the 2011 announcem… | Until 2014, Valastro resided in East Hanover Township, New Jersey, with his wife Lisa and four children: Sofia, Bartolo "Buddy" III, Marco, and Carlo. He has four sisters and a stepfather, Sergio. His brother-in-law is Maurizio Belgiovine. As of 2014, he resided in Montville, New Jersey.On 13 November 2014, Valastro was arrested for driving while intoxicated. His driver's license was suspended for 90 days, and he paid a $300 fine. In September 2020, Valastro had his dominant right hand impaled by a pinsetter at his home bowling alley. His sons and other family members rescued him by cutting him out of the machine. He underwent two emergency surgeries. | Valastro is the owner and head baker of Carlo's Bakery, the bakery featured on the TLC show Cake Boss. Carlo's has since opened 17 more bakeries due to the popularity of the show. In January 2012, as a result of the attention that the shop and the TV series had brought to the city of Hoboken, the Hudson Reporter named Valastro as an honorable mention in its list of Hudson County's 50 most influential people. Carlo's Bakery has seven locations in New Jersey—Hoboken, Marlton, Morristown, Red Bank, Ridgewood, Wayne, and Westfield. Outside of New Jersey, the bakery operates locations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Westbury and New York, New York; Orlando, Florida; Frisco, Dallas, and The Woodlands, Texas; São Paulo, Brazil; Uncasville, Connecticut; Las Vegas and most recently in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Lackawanna Factory in nearby Jersey City serves as the corporate office for the business and is used as additional space to create wedding and specialty cakes, and to bake specialty baked goods for shipment across the country. Valastro launched an event planning and catering company, Buddy V's Events, in June 2014. In 2016 Valastro partnered with Whole Earth Sweetener Co. on the campaign "Rethink Sweet." The company said Valastro would serve as brand ambassador for a "new line of zero- and lower-calorie sweeteners, and will work to help his fans make healthy lifestyle choices", as provide recipes using the product. In 2018 Valastro partnered with The Pound Bakery, a pet treat manufacturing company to redesign and launch a new line of pet treats. "We wanted to create palatable treats for dogs that are inspired by classic Italian entrees and desserts," said Lexie Berglund, President of The Pound Bakery. Buddy also worked with several other companies to launch a full line of ready-to-use fondant, buttercream icing, and Italian Biscotti cookies under the new brand name Buddy Valastro Foods in 2018. Valastro, a supporter of the Special Olympics, baked a commemorative cake for the 2011 announcem… | chefs |
| 69 | 69 | Michael Voltaggio | Michael | Voltaggio | M | Voltaggio did not have the money to attend culinary school. Instead, he did a long apprenticeship in The Greenbrier's prestigious culinary apprenticeship program. Michael completed his Greenbrier apprenticeship under Certified Master Chef Peter Timmins at the age of 21. He later held jobs at the Ritz Carlton Hotel Naples, Florida under chef Peter Timmins and Charlie Palmer's Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg. During his tenure as Chef de Cuisine at The Bazaar by Jose Andres, the restaurant was nominated for the James Beard Foundation Award for Best New Restaurant in 2008. Voltaggio was the Chef de Cuisine at The Dining Room, Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa in Pasadena, which received several culinary awards, including the AAA Five Diamond Award, the Mobil Five-Star Award, and a Michelin Star, one of the few held by restaurants in the US. Voltaggio left The Dining Room in 2010 and announced plans to open his own restaurant in West Hollywood, California, in a space owned by former Hollywood superagent Michael Ovitz. After several delays, the highly successful ink. opened on September 21, 2011. Voltaggio's goal with the restaurant was to create what he called "modern Los Angeles cuisine." The restaurant seats 60 in the dining room with a private room that can accommodate an additional 10 guests. It was named America's best new restaurant by GQ Magazine in March 2012. While publicly developing and readying ink. for its highly anticipated debut, Voltaggio was quietly planning a smaller restaurant around the corner, a sandwich shop called ink.sack. Voltaggio designed and built the shop himself and surprised the culinary world when he opened the small restaurant with little notice or fanfare on August 11, 2011. Michael's sous chef, Mei Lin, won Top Chef Season 12. | Voltaggio has two daughters, Olivia and Sophia. | Voltaggio did not have the money to attend culinary school. Instead, he did a long apprenticeship in The Greenbrier's prestigious culinary apprenticeship program. Michael completed his Greenbrier apprenticeship under Certified Master Chef Peter Timmins at the age of 21. He later held jobs at the Ritz Carlton Hotel Naples, Florida under chef Peter Timmins and Charlie Palmer's Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg. During his tenure as Chef de Cuisine at The Bazaar by Jose Andres, the restaurant was nominated for the James Beard Foundation Award for Best New Restaurant in 2008. Voltaggio was the Chef de Cuisine at The Dining Room, Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa in Pasadena, which received several culinary awards, including the AAA Five Diamond Award, the Mobil Five-Star Award, and a Michelin Star, one of the few held by restaurants in the US. Voltaggio left The Dining Room in 2010 and announced plans to open his own restaurant in West Hollywood, California, in a space owned by former Hollywood superagent Michael Ovitz. After several delays, the highly successful ink. opened on September 21, 2011. Voltaggio's goal with the restaurant was to create what he called "modern Los Angeles cuisine." The restaurant seats 60 in the dining room with a private room that can accommodate an additional 10 guests. It was named America's best new restaurant by GQ Magazine in March 2012. While publicly developing and readying ink. for its highly anticipated debut, Voltaggio was quietly planning a smaller restaurant around the corner, a sandwich shop called ink.sack. Voltaggio designed and built the shop himself and surprised the culinary world when he opened the small restaurant with little notice or fanfare on August 11, 2011. Michael's sous chef, Mei Lin, won Top Chef Season 12.Voltaggio has two daughters, Olivia and Sophia. | chefs |
| 70 | 70 | Justin Warner | Justin | Warner | M | He was one of the co-owners of Do or Dine restaurant in Bed-Stuy, New York, before it closed in September 2015. Starting October 31, 2016, Warner, along with a few others acting as staff, created a new cooking show on Twitch.tv known as Chefshock, "Shockingly Real, Shockingly Live, and just plain Shockingly Delicious.", where he cooks live from his home kitchen from completely raw ingredients with viewers encouraged to cook along and ask questions. Questions are often presented to Warner by a moderator who shares in eating the finished results, while those that cook along and post their own progress pictures are featured throughout the show during lulls in the cooking process. Ingredients required to cook along at home are shared a week in advance, usually through the use of google documents to allow those that wish to participate time to gather them. | In 2004, Justin married his high school sweetheart, Jessica Hinze. They lived together in Colorado until their divorce in 2007. On June 29, 2015, Justin Warner married his fiancée Brooke Sweeten. | He was one of the co-owners of Do or Dine restaurant in Bed-Stuy, New York, before it closed in September 2015. Starting October 31, 2016, Warner, along with a few others acting as staff, created a new cooking show on Twitch.tv known as Chefshock, "Shockingly Real, Shockingly Live, and just plain Shockingly Delicious.", where he cooks live from his home kitchen from completely raw ingredients with viewers encouraged to cook along and ask questions. Questions are often presented to Warner by a moderator who shares in eating the finished results, while those that cook along and post their own progress pictures are featured throughout the show during lulls in the cooking process. Ingredients required to cook along at home are shared a week in advance, usually through the use of google documents to allow those that wish to participate time to gather them.In 2004, Justin married his high school sweetheart, Jessica Hinze. They lived together in Colorado until their divorce in 2007. On June 29, 2015, Justin Warner married his fiancée Brooke Sweeten. | chefs |
| 71 | 71 | Robert Wiedmaier | Robert | Wiedmaier | M | He began his career working at restaurants in Belgium and the Netherlands, but relocated to the Washington metropolitan area in the 1980s. Upon arriving in the D.C. area, he took his first job as a saucier at the Morrison House in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, at its restaurant, Le Chardon d’Or. He then worked at various hotels, including the Four Seasons and the Watergate (replacing Jean-Louis Palladin). In 1999, he opened his first restaurant, Marcel's, and now operates a group of restaurants in D.C., Virginia, Maryland, and Atlantic City. He has been invited to compete the television program Iron Chef, but declined, stating in 2012, "that's just not my thing. Not that I wouldn't do it, but I have five restaurants to run." In 2009, Wiedmaier was honored as Chef of the Year by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (the RAMMY Awards). In August 2012, Wiedmaier was inducted into The Knighthood of the Brewers’ Mashstaff at the Belgian Beer Weekend in Brussels. Marcel's, named for Wiedmaier's son, opened in 1999 in Washington, D.C.'s Foggy Bottom neighborhood with fine French-Belgian cuisine. In 2015, Marcel's underwent a major renovation with new additions to the menu. Diners at Marcel's can create their own tasting menus with four, five, six or seven courses. In 2016, Marcel's won the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMMY) Award for formal fine dining restaurant of the year. In 2007, Wiedmaier opened a second restaurant in D.C., Brasserie Beck. He opened his third restaurant in 2009, Brabo in Virginia. In the following years, he has expanded to open several more restaurants in Maryland, Virginia, and Atlantic City, New Jersey under the umbrella of the RW Restaurant Group. In April 2007, he opened Brasserie Beck (named after his youngest son), his first major foray into mussels and Belgian beer. He described the restaurant as having a "1950s to 60s train station feel," and a focus on French cuisine with Flemish influences. Esquire called Brasserie Beck one of the Best New Restaurants i… | Robert Wiedmaier was born in Germany and lived there until he was about the age 15. He described his mother, who was born in California, as a "great cook" who focused on French cuisine. He attended cooking school in the Netherlands, and now resides in Kensington, Maryland. He has been described as an "avid hunter" and fisherman and "full circle chef". | Robert Wiedmaier was born in Germany and lived there until he was about the age 15. He described his mother, who was born in California, as a "great cook" who focused on French cuisine. He attended cooking school in the Netherlands, and now resides in Kensington, Maryland. He has been described as an "avid hunter" and fisherman and "full circle chef".He began his career working at restaurants in Belgium and the Netherlands, but relocated to the Washington metropolitan area in the 1980s. Upon arriving in the D.C. area, he took his first job as a saucier at the Morrison House in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, at its restaurant, Le Chardon d’Or. He then worked at various hotels, including the Four Seasons and the Watergate (replacing Jean-Louis Palladin). In 1999, he opened his first restaurant, Marcel's, and now operates a group of restaurants in D.C., Virginia, Maryland, and Atlantic City. He has been invited to compete the television program Iron Chef, but declined, stating in 2012, "that's just not my thing. Not that I wouldn't do it, but I have five restaurants to run." In 2009, Wiedmaier was honored as Chef of the Year by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (the RAMMY Awards). In August 2012, Wiedmaier was inducted into The Knighthood of the Brewers’ Mashstaff at the Belgian Beer Weekend in Brussels. Marcel's, named for Wiedmaier's son, opened in 1999 in Washington, D.C.'s Foggy Bottom neighborhood with fine French-Belgian cuisine. In 2015, Marcel's underwent a major renovation with new additions to the menu. Diners at Marcel's can create their own tasting menus with four, five, six or seven courses. In 2016, Marcel's won the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMMY) Award for formal fine dining restaurant of the year. In 2007, Wiedmaier opened a second restaurant in D.C., Brasserie Beck. He opened his third restaurant in 2009, Brabo in Virginia. In the following years, he has expanded to open several more restaurants in Maryland, Virginia, and Atlantic City, New Jersey under the um… | chefs |
| 72 | 72 | Ronnie Woo | Ronnie | Woo | M | In 2011, Woo completed a culinary program with the Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver while also creating his food blog, The Delicious Cook. A few months later, his food blog evolved into what is now his private chef company, based in Beverly Hills, which specializes in intimate four-star dinner parties. Woo has worked with Mindy Kaling, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Alba, Charlie Sheen, Kathy Griffin, Holly Robinson Peete, Dita Von Teese, Nancy O'Dell, and Gilles Marini. On May 5, 2013, Woo premiered a pop-up event called Salt & Honey, which served California comfort-style dishes. Woo is the host and chef of the cooking and reality television show Food To Get You Laid on Logo TV. The show was originally set to premiere on August 16, 2015 but was later changed to an earlier premiere date, August 14, 2015. In the show, Woo coaches real people in their homes on how to cook a meal in their kitchen in hopes to spice up their love life via recipes that everyday people can make at home. Woo said this about the show: “Food does more than just bring people together, it creates memories. I think all of us have the tools to create a memorable meal, so we’re going into people’s homes and showing them how they can use what’s already in their kitchen to make a romantic and delicious meal they'll never forget." Woo was a guest chef expert on Season 4 of Home Made Simple on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) and was added to the cast as a regular chef expert in season 5. He has made guest appearances on Tyra Banks's FABLife (where Chrissy Teigen asked him to cook shirtless ), Fuse's Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce, and is a regular contributor to Good Day LA. Woo has also made a celebrity chef appearance on NBC's Food Fighters. In 2016, Woo joined the cast of Logo TV's Secret Guide To Summer for a one-hour summer special. Woo is a regular chef guest on The Rachael Ray Show and Hallmark Channel's The Home and Family Show,. Woo was a featured guest on Food Network's The Kitchen, Hollywood Today Live, and featured guest judge on the Th… | Woo grew up in Seattle, Washington with his parents and two sisters. At the age of 19, he moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue his modeling career. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California. | Woo grew up in Seattle, Washington with his parents and two sisters. At the age of 19, he moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue his modeling career. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California.In 2011, Woo completed a culinary program with the Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver while also creating his food blog, The Delicious Cook. A few months later, his food blog evolved into what is now his private chef company, based in Beverly Hills, which specializes in intimate four-star dinner parties. Woo has worked with Mindy Kaling, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Alba, Charlie Sheen, Kathy Griffin, Holly Robinson Peete, Dita Von Teese, Nancy O'Dell, and Gilles Marini. On May 5, 2013, Woo premiered a pop-up event called Salt & Honey, which served California comfort-style dishes. Woo is the host and chef of the cooking and reality television show Food To Get You Laid on Logo TV. The show was originally set to premiere on August 16, 2015 but was later changed to an earlier premiere date, August 14, 2015. In the show, Woo coaches real people in their homes on how to cook a meal in their kitchen in hopes to spice up their love life via recipes that everyday people can make at home. Woo said this about the show: “Food does more than just bring people together, it creates memories. I think all of us have the tools to create a memorable meal, so we’re going into people’s homes and showing them how they can use what’s already in their kitchen to make a romantic and delicious meal they'll never forget." Woo was a guest chef expert on Season 4 of Home Made Simple on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) and was added to the cast as a regular chef expert in season 5. He has made guest appearances on Tyra Banks's FABLife (where Chrissy Teigen asked him to cook shirtless ), Fuse's Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce, and is a regular contributor to Good Day LA. Woo has also made a celebrity chef appearance on NBC's Food Fighters. In 2016, Woo joined the cast of Logo TV's Secret Guide To Summer for a one-hour summer special. Woo is a reg… | chefs |
| 73 | 73 | Geoffrey Zakarian | Geoffrey | Zakarian | M | In 1990, he became the executive chef at 44, a restaurant described by The New York Times as "trendy" and "chic", located at the Royalton Hotel in midtown Manhattan. William Grimes, also of The New York Times, described Zakarian as "... the reason that 44 in the Royalton Hotel was always a lot better than it needed to be" in 2001. Previously, in 1992, 44 had received only 2 stars from The New York Times columnist Bryan Miller. In 1996, he was hired to oversee Old Navy's ill-fated coffee bar and coffee cart division with David Brody of Z100 WHTZ. He then went on to work for the Blue Door of the Delano Hotel in South Beach, Miami. In 1998, he became the executive chef at Patroon in Manhattan, which was awarded 3 stars (excellent) by NY Times critic Ruth Reichl. In the spring of 2000, Zakarian worked with Alain Passard, a renowned French chef at the three-Michelin star restaurant Arpège in Paris. His style is described as "modern" with roots in French cuisine, or as he describes, "dynamic American." Zakarian owned two restaurants, Town and Country, both of which are in Manhattan. They have been rated with 3 stars by The New York Times. His restaurant Town was located in the East Side of Midtown Manhattan in the Chambers Hotel and opened in Spring 2001 but closed in 2009. Country is located in the Carlton Hotel near Madison Square Park and opened in 2005. The restaurant has earned a Michelin Star. Zakarian is now a consultant at the Water Club in Atlantic City and executive chef at the Lamb's Club in New York City. The Lambs Club restaurant is not connected in any way to the historical theatre club, The Lambs (known as The Lambs Club since 1874). In the spring of 2006, Zakarian released his first book, Geoffrey Zakarian's Town / Country. It was quoted as being "...one of the best of 2006" by The New York Times columnist Amanda Hesser. The book features 150 recipes for family, friends and "Life Around the Table." | Zakarian married Margaret Anne Williams, a marketing executive, in 2005. They have two daughters, Anna and Madeline, and one son, George. He was previously married to Heather Karaman for approximately 10 years. Zakarian is a "long-time subscriber to Reason and a self-described libertarian." | In 1990, he became the executive chef at 44, a restaurant described by The New York Times as "trendy" and "chic", located at the Royalton Hotel in midtown Manhattan. William Grimes, also of The New York Times, described Zakarian as "... the reason that 44 in the Royalton Hotel was always a lot better than it needed to be" in 2001. Previously, in 1992, 44 had received only 2 stars from The New York Times columnist Bryan Miller. In 1996, he was hired to oversee Old Navy's ill-fated coffee bar and coffee cart division with David Brody of Z100 WHTZ. He then went on to work for the Blue Door of the Delano Hotel in South Beach, Miami. In 1998, he became the executive chef at Patroon in Manhattan, which was awarded 3 stars (excellent) by NY Times critic Ruth Reichl. In the spring of 2000, Zakarian worked with Alain Passard, a renowned French chef at the three-Michelin star restaurant Arpège in Paris. His style is described as "modern" with roots in French cuisine, or as he describes, "dynamic American." Zakarian owned two restaurants, Town and Country, both of which are in Manhattan. They have been rated with 3 stars by The New York Times. His restaurant Town was located in the East Side of Midtown Manhattan in the Chambers Hotel and opened in Spring 2001 but closed in 2009. Country is located in the Carlton Hotel near Madison Square Park and opened in 2005. The restaurant has earned a Michelin Star. Zakarian is now a consultant at the Water Club in Atlantic City and executive chef at the Lamb's Club in New York City. The Lambs Club restaurant is not connected in any way to the historical theatre club, The Lambs (known as The Lambs Club since 1874). In the spring of 2006, Zakarian released his first book, Geoffrey Zakarian's Town / Country. It was quoted as being "...one of the best of 2006" by The New York Times columnist Amanda Hesser. The book features 150 recipes for family, friends and "Life Around the Table."Zakarian married Margaret Anne Williams, a marketing executive, in 2005. They have two daughters, Anna and … | chefs |
| 74 | 74 | Jacob Bannon | Jacob | Bannon | M | Converge is an American metalcore band formed in the winter of 1990 by vocalist Jacob Bannon and guitarist Kurt Ballou, they were later joined by bassist Jeff Feinburg, and drummer Damon Bellorado. They started by playing covers of hardcore punk, punk rock and heavy metal songs. The band soon graduated to playing live performances in 1991, after recording some demos on a 4-track recorder. Converge have enjoyed a relatively high level of recognition. Their popularity began to rise with the release of breakthrough album, Jane Doe. Converge's records have gradually become more elaborate and expensive to produce. This progression began with their move from a small independent label (Equal Vision Records) to a considerably larger one (Epitaph Records). Special releases have traditionally been handled by Bannon's record label, Deathwish Inc. After Supermachiner released Rise of the Great Machine and after Converge had completed recording Jane Doe, Bannon started writing and recording solo material under the name Dear Lover. Although a number of releases were lined up none of them saw the light of day except a demo version of one track "Grant Me the Strength" which was made available for download on Converge's website in January 2003. The track was supposed to be part of en EP titled The Blood of Thine Enemies, but the EP was never released. The track was later featured on Supermachiner's 2009 album Rust. There was also a Dear Lover double album planned titled Wear Your Wounds to be released on Icarus Records. In January, 2005 Dear Lover recordings were said to have been in the editing and mixing process, and it was believed there would be multiple releases of Dear Lover recordings which included the Wear Your Wounds double album throughout the year, however this did not happen. In March 2008 the single "The Blood of Thine Enemies" was released on Deathwish, Bannon released the song under the name J.Bannon. Bannon has said the song was never intended it to be part of an album, only to be a stand-alone piece. Converge's … | Bannon was born in 1976. He grew up splitting his time between Andover in the Merrimack Valley, Charlestown, and East Boston on some weekends. At 17, he graduated High School early and chose to work until heading to college. He relocated to metro Boston and attended college at The Art Institute of Boston, earning a Bachelors In Fine Arts for design in 1998, and subsequently taught the subject on a college level for a brief time. He also won the "Excellence In Design" accolade from the school. For a brief time, he instructed at the same college in their "Continuing Education" program. After working a variety of freelance design jobs at firms, he became a freelance Artist/Designer primarily working in the Independent music community. He is a vegetarian and follows a straight edge lifestyle. From 2005 to 2008, he has been nominated for the title of "World's Sexiest Vegetarian" by Peta2. He is concerned with the greyhound-racing industry, and is a dog owner, having owned rescued greyhounds, pitbulls, among others. Bannon is also an avid mixed martial arts and kickboxing fan, having trained boxing, Muay Thai, and obtained a license as a MMA instructor in the state of Massachusetts, working occasionally as a judge. Accordingly, Deathwish has sponsored some MMA fighters. Bannon is known for his extensive tattoos. He received his first tattoo at the age of 15, which has subsequently been covered by other tattoos. He has been tattooed by Darren Brass, among many other artists. In 2013, Bannon was the subject of a short documentary directed by Ian McFarland entitled "Rungs in a Ladder." In the documentary, Bannon reflected on important moments in his life and his motivation as an artist. | Bannon was born in 1976. He grew up splitting his time between Andover in the Merrimack Valley, Charlestown, and East Boston on some weekends. At 17, he graduated High School early and chose to work until heading to college. He relocated to metro Boston and attended college at The Art Institute of Boston, earning a Bachelors In Fine Arts for design in 1998, and subsequently taught the subject on a college level for a brief time. He also won the "Excellence In Design" accolade from the school. For a brief time, he instructed at the same college in their "Continuing Education" program. After working a variety of freelance design jobs at firms, he became a freelance Artist/Designer primarily working in the Independent music community. He is a vegetarian and follows a straight edge lifestyle. From 2005 to 2008, he has been nominated for the title of "World's Sexiest Vegetarian" by Peta2. He is concerned with the greyhound-racing industry, and is a dog owner, having owned rescued greyhounds, pitbulls, among others. Bannon is also an avid mixed martial arts and kickboxing fan, having trained boxing, Muay Thai, and obtained a license as a MMA instructor in the state of Massachusetts, working occasionally as a judge. Accordingly, Deathwish has sponsored some MMA fighters. Bannon is known for his extensive tattoos. He received his first tattoo at the age of 15, which has subsequently been covered by other tattoos. He has been tattooed by Darren Brass, among many other artists. In 2013, Bannon was the subject of a short documentary directed by Ian McFarland entitled "Rungs in a Ladder." In the documentary, Bannon reflected on important moments in his life and his motivation as an artist.Converge is an American metalcore band formed in the winter of 1990 by vocalist Jacob Bannon and guitarist Kurt Ballou, they were later joined by bassist Jeff Feinburg, and drummer Damon Bellorado. They started by playing covers of hardcore punk, punk rock and heavy metal songs. The band soon graduated to playing live performances in 1991, … | artists |
| 75 | 75 | Natvar Bhavsar | Natvar | Bhavsar | M | Bhavsar attained prominence as an artist in India by age 19, working primarily in the Cubist vein. After moving to New York City, he became influenced by the freedom of abstract painting. His style evolved into abstract expressionism and color field painting, and his works often feature a hazy object (absent of direct lines or geometric shapes) in the center of a solid canvas, that projects an astral-like mass of color. Employing some techniques from the Indian tradition of sand painting, Bhavsar paints in an improvisational manner, "soaking the canvas with acrylic-based liquid binders that absorb and hold the fine pigment powder. He applies the base using a sifting technique with a screen, during which layers of fine, concentrated pigment are sprinkled and drizzled over the canvas (or paper), which is laid out on the floor so that the artist can walk around the painting and work on it from all sides." Bhavsar primarily shows his work at the Sundaram Tagore Gallery in New York and the ACP Viviane Ehrli Gallery in Zurich, Switzerland, along with Pundole Art Gallery in Bombay, India. He has been exhibiting his works in one-man shows since 1970. In 2007, the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University sponsored an exhibition of about 50 of Bhavsar’s works. It was the first United States university to hold a one-man show of a South Asian artist. Earlier in his career, Bhavsar was a John D. Rockefeller III Fund Fellow (1965 –1966), a Guggenheim Foundation Fellow (1975 – 1976), and an Instructor of Art at the University of Rhode Island (1967 – 1969). In 1980 and 1983, he participated in Executive Seminars at the Aspen Institute and, more recently, participated as a Cultural Leader at the World Economic Forums in Davos, Switzerland (2000) and New York (2002). Throughout his career, Bhavsar has associated with a number of acclaimed artists, most prominently, Mark Rothko (1903 – 1970) and Barnett Newman (1905 – 1970). Bhasvar has been included in the Asian American Arts Centre's artasiamerica digital archive. … | Bhavsar married American artist and photographer Janet Brosious Bhavsar in 1978, and they have twin sons. The Bhavsars met in art class in the early 1960s, and she drove him to New York City on his first visit in 1963 to look at Picasso paintings at the Museum of Modern Art. | Bhavsar attained prominence as an artist in India by age 19, working primarily in the Cubist vein. After moving to New York City, he became influenced by the freedom of abstract painting. His style evolved into abstract expressionism and color field painting, and his works often feature a hazy object (absent of direct lines or geometric shapes) in the center of a solid canvas, that projects an astral-like mass of color. Employing some techniques from the Indian tradition of sand painting, Bhavsar paints in an improvisational manner, "soaking the canvas with acrylic-based liquid binders that absorb and hold the fine pigment powder. He applies the base using a sifting technique with a screen, during which layers of fine, concentrated pigment are sprinkled and drizzled over the canvas (or paper), which is laid out on the floor so that the artist can walk around the painting and work on it from all sides." Bhavsar primarily shows his work at the Sundaram Tagore Gallery in New York and the ACP Viviane Ehrli Gallery in Zurich, Switzerland, along with Pundole Art Gallery in Bombay, India. He has been exhibiting his works in one-man shows since 1970. In 2007, the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University sponsored an exhibition of about 50 of Bhavsar’s works. It was the first United States university to hold a one-man show of a South Asian artist. Earlier in his career, Bhavsar was a John D. Rockefeller III Fund Fellow (1965 –1966), a Guggenheim Foundation Fellow (1975 – 1976), and an Instructor of Art at the University of Rhode Island (1967 – 1969). In 1980 and 1983, he participated in Executive Seminars at the Aspen Institute and, more recently, participated as a Cultural Leader at the World Economic Forums in Davos, Switzerland (2000) and New York (2002). Throughout his career, Bhavsar has associated with a number of acclaimed artists, most prominently, Mark Rothko (1903 – 1970) and Barnett Newman (1905 – 1970). Bhasvar has been included in the Asian American Arts Centre's artasiamerica digital archive. … | artists |
| 76 | 76 | Tom Bianchi | Tom | Bianchi | M | His 21 books of photographs, poems, and essays primarily cover the gay male experience. In 1990, St. Martin's Press published Out of the Studio, Bianchi's book of male nudes, frankly gay and affectionally connected. Thereafter, 20 of Bianchi's books have been published, three documentary films about Bianchi's work have been distributed, and Bianchi's work has been published in more than thirty anthologies on the male nude. His On the Couch series, Deep Sex, Erotic Triggers and Fine Art Sex deal with the expression of conscious sexual energy. His book Fire Island Pines Polaroids 1975–1983, made with his partner, Ben Smales, was honored by Time magazine's list of the Best Photo Books of 2013. | Bianchi was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. Bianchi studied political science at the University of New Mexico, and subsequently earned a J.D. degree at Northwestern University School of Law. He practiced corporate law for ten years in Chicago and Washington, D.C.. At thirty-four, he left his position as senior counsel at Columbia Pictures, tore up his J.D. degree, pasted it into a painting and had his first one-man show with Betty Parsons and Carol Dreyfuss in New York. Shortly thereafter, he had his first major museum retrospective at the Spoleto Festival in 1984. Bianchi currently resides in Palm Springs, California. | His 21 books of photographs, poems, and essays primarily cover the gay male experience. In 1990, St. Martin's Press published Out of the Studio, Bianchi's book of male nudes, frankly gay and affectionally connected. Thereafter, 20 of Bianchi's books have been published, three documentary films about Bianchi's work have been distributed, and Bianchi's work has been published in more than thirty anthologies on the male nude. His On the Couch series, Deep Sex, Erotic Triggers and Fine Art Sex deal with the expression of conscious sexual energy. His book Fire Island Pines Polaroids 1975–1983, made with his partner, Ben Smales, was honored by Time magazine's list of the Best Photo Books of 2013.Bianchi was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. Bianchi studied political science at the University of New Mexico, and subsequently earned a J.D. degree at Northwestern University School of Law. He practiced corporate law for ten years in Chicago and Washington, D.C.. At thirty-four, he left his position as senior counsel at Columbia Pictures, tore up his J.D. degree, pasted it into a painting and had his first one-man show with Betty Parsons and Carol Dreyfuss in New York. Shortly thereafter, he had his first major museum retrospective at the Spoleto Festival in 1984. Bianchi currently resides in Palm Springs, California. | artists |
| 77 | 77 | Norman Carton | Norman | Carton | M | Norman Carton was employed as a muralist and easel artist from 1939 to 1942, working for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Art Project and collaborating with architect George Howe. Carton’s WPA commissions during this time included murals at the Helen Fleischer Vocational School for Girls in Philadelphia, the Officers’ Club at Camp Meade Army Base in Maryland, and in the city of Hidalgo, Mexico. During World War II, he worked for Cramp Shipbuilding as a naval structural designer and draftsman. It was at this time that Carton began creating non-objective sculptures with metal. After the war, Carton co-founded a fabric design plant in Philadelphia. He produced hand-printed fabrics for interiors and fashion that were featured in Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue and Women’s Wear Daily. Original fabric designs were commissioned by notable clients including Lord & Taylor, Gimbels, and Nina Ricci. Some of these designs are at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Carton traded his partnership in the fabric design company in 1949 to focus full-time on painting. Carton had his first solo exhibition in 1949 at the Philadelphia Art Alliance. This show was followed closely by solo exhibitions at the Laurel Gallery (New York City) and Dubin Gallery (Philadelphia). At this time, his exhibited work was Abstract Impressionist. In addition to painting, he taught classes at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and was the Founder and first President of the Philadelphia chapter of Artist’s Equity Association. The Philadelphia Museum of Art and the organization of the National Museums of France commissioned Carton to travel to Europe, mainly France, in 1950 for a color photography study of continental masterpieces. He was granted access to study the restoration of the Mona Lisa and was one of the very few to be given permission to remove the painting from its frame. In 1952, he had solo exhibitions at the Sorbonne, Galerie d’Art, and Gallery Rene Breteau and was part of many group shows in Paris salons including Les Surindependants, Sal… | Norman Carton had two children, sons Jacob and Benedict Carton. He died of a heart attack at Doctors Hospital in New York City in 1980 at the age of 72. | Norman Carton was employed as a muralist and easel artist from 1939 to 1942, working for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Art Project and collaborating with architect George Howe. Carton’s WPA commissions during this time included murals at the Helen Fleischer Vocational School for Girls in Philadelphia, the Officers’ Club at Camp Meade Army Base in Maryland, and in the city of Hidalgo, Mexico. During World War II, he worked for Cramp Shipbuilding as a naval structural designer and draftsman. It was at this time that Carton began creating non-objective sculptures with metal. After the war, Carton co-founded a fabric design plant in Philadelphia. He produced hand-printed fabrics for interiors and fashion that were featured in Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue and Women’s Wear Daily. Original fabric designs were commissioned by notable clients including Lord & Taylor, Gimbels, and Nina Ricci. Some of these designs are at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Carton traded his partnership in the fabric design company in 1949 to focus full-time on painting. Carton had his first solo exhibition in 1949 at the Philadelphia Art Alliance. This show was followed closely by solo exhibitions at the Laurel Gallery (New York City) and Dubin Gallery (Philadelphia). At this time, his exhibited work was Abstract Impressionist. In addition to painting, he taught classes at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and was the Founder and first President of the Philadelphia chapter of Artist’s Equity Association. The Philadelphia Museum of Art and the organization of the National Museums of France commissioned Carton to travel to Europe, mainly France, in 1950 for a color photography study of continental masterpieces. He was granted access to study the restoration of the Mona Lisa and was one of the very few to be given permission to remove the painting from its frame. In 1952, he had solo exhibitions at the Sorbonne, Galerie d’Art, and Gallery Rene Breteau and was part of many group shows in Paris salons including Les Surindependants, Sal… | artists |
| 78 | 78 | Peter Max | Peter | Max | M | In 1962, Max started a small Manhattan arts studio known as "The Daly & Max Studio," with friend Tom Daly. Daly and Max were joined by friend and mentor Don Rubbo, and the three worked as a group on books and advertising for which they received industry recognition. Much of their work incorporated antique photographic images as elements of collage. Max's interest in astronomy contributed to his self-described "Cosmic '60s" period, which featured what became identified as psychedelic, counter culture imagery. Max's art was popularized nationally through TV commercials such as his 1968 "un cola" ad for the soft drink 7 Up which helped drive sales of his art posters and other merchandise. Max appeared on The Tonight Show on August 15, 1968. He was featured on the cover of Life magazine's September 5, 1969 edition under the heading "Peter Max: Portrait of the artist as a very rich man." In 1970, many of Max's products and posters were featured in the exhibition "The World of Peter Max," which opened at the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco. The United States Postal Service commissioned Max to create the 10-cent postage stamp to commemorate the Expo '74 World's Fair in Spokane, Washington, and Max drew a colorful psychedelic scene with a "Cosmic Jumper" and a "Smiling Sage" against a backdrop of a cloud, sun rays and a ship at sea on the theme of "Preserve the Environment." According to The New York Times, "His DayGlo-inflected posters became wallpaper for the turn on, tune in, drop out generation." On July 4, 1976, Max began his Statue of Liberty series leading to his efforts with Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca to help in the restoration of the statue. Also in 1976, "Peter Max Paints America" was commissioned by the ASEA of Sweden. The book project commemorated the United States Bicentennial and included the following foreword: "Peter Max Paints America is based on works of art commissioned by ASEA of Sweden on the 200th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America, in sincere recognition of the… | Max married his first wife Elizabeth Ann Nance in 1963 and they divorced in 1976. Max had a nine-year-long relationship with musician and model Rosie Vela that ended in 1985. He was also romantically connected with Tina Louise. Max married Mary Balkin in 1997; she died by suicide (nitrogen asphyxiation) in June 2019. In November 1997, Max pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal district court to charges of concealing more than $1.1 million in income from the Internal Revenue Service in connection with the sales of his works between 1988 and 1991. The plea came two days before he was to go on trial on an 11-count conspiracy and tax fraud indictment. Under the deal, he pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to defraud the IRS and a charge of tax evasion, telling a federal judge that he had taken payments in cash, deposited customers' checks into his personal account and arranged other transactions to avoid tax liability. In June 1998, he was sentenced to two months in prison and a $30,000 fine. The federal judge ordered Max to pay the taxes he owed and to perform 800 hours of community service. Max is an environmentalist, vegan and supporter of human and animal rights. In 2002, Max contributed to rescue efforts for Cincinnati Freedom, a cow that escaped from an Ohio slaughterhouse. The cow jumped over a six-foot fence while the slaughterhouse workers were on break and eluded capture for eleven days. Max donated $180,000 worth of his art to benefit the local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, part of a chain of events that finally led to the cow being sent to Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York, a permanent home where the cow remained for the rest of her life. Max lives in New York City and has two adult children, Adam Cosmo Max and Libra Astro Max. Max has developed advanced dementia, largely the result of Alzheimer's disease. | In 1962, Max started a small Manhattan arts studio known as "The Daly & Max Studio," with friend Tom Daly. Daly and Max were joined by friend and mentor Don Rubbo, and the three worked as a group on books and advertising for which they received industry recognition. Much of their work incorporated antique photographic images as elements of collage. Max's interest in astronomy contributed to his self-described "Cosmic '60s" period, which featured what became identified as psychedelic, counter culture imagery. Max's art was popularized nationally through TV commercials such as his 1968 "un cola" ad for the soft drink 7 Up which helped drive sales of his art posters and other merchandise. Max appeared on The Tonight Show on August 15, 1968. He was featured on the cover of Life magazine's September 5, 1969 edition under the heading "Peter Max: Portrait of the artist as a very rich man." In 1970, many of Max's products and posters were featured in the exhibition "The World of Peter Max," which opened at the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco. The United States Postal Service commissioned Max to create the 10-cent postage stamp to commemorate the Expo '74 World's Fair in Spokane, Washington, and Max drew a colorful psychedelic scene with a "Cosmic Jumper" and a "Smiling Sage" against a backdrop of a cloud, sun rays and a ship at sea on the theme of "Preserve the Environment." According to The New York Times, "His DayGlo-inflected posters became wallpaper for the turn on, tune in, drop out generation." On July 4, 1976, Max began his Statue of Liberty series leading to his efforts with Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca to help in the restoration of the statue. Also in 1976, "Peter Max Paints America" was commissioned by the ASEA of Sweden. The book project commemorated the United States Bicentennial and included the following foreword: "Peter Max Paints America is based on works of art commissioned by ASEA of Sweden on the 200th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America, in sincere recognition of the… | artists |
| 79 | 79 | Jordan Nassar | Jordan | Nassar | M | Nassar bases his work on tatreez (Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery) which is typically created in panels which are stitched together into clothing or other items. Nassar typically creates and frames small panels, many around 8 x 10 inches. The panels' patterns typically feature geometric borders and depict plants and flowers, though the thread colors Nassar uses often do not correspond to those shapes, but to subtle landscapes. Nassar's work depicts cultural elements of his upbringing in the Upper West Side, which he likens to traditional Palestinian embroidery, where each village uses distinct symbols. Some designs also feature technology-related motifs, such as computers, which Nassar links with embroidery as the first form of pixelation. Nassar's earliest work involved copying embroidery patterns from books. Once he learned that each Palestinian village has its own pattern, he began to develop his own patterns resembling Palestinian embroidery but that do not exist in traditional works. Each work contains up to 75,000 individual stitches. Nassar draws inspiration from a number of artists, many of whom work in textile, such as Sheila Hicks, Hannah Ryggen, and Anni Albers; painters including Paul Guiragossian and Helen Frankenthaler; and artists working with alternative media, such as Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian. He sees his work as continuing the conversations their artwork has created. He considers their efforts to be about form, texture, and color, though Nassar primarily tries to address concepts and issues beyond the medium itself. Nassar particularly looks up to Etel Adnan, a Lebanese-American poet, essayist, and visual artist. Since Nassar's first solo exhibition, in London in 2015, he has turned to creating more political works, including focusing on cultural absorption, or absorption of elements of one culture by another. Nassar held a solo exhibition in Los Angeles at Anat Ebgi gallery's AE2 space in 2017. Anat Ebgi presented Nassar's work at the 2018 Frieze New York, an art fair in New York City… | Jordan Nassar is married to the Israeli-born fellow artist Amir Guberstein. The two met while living in Berlin, and their decision to live in New York was spurred by the ruling in United States v. Windsor, the Supreme Court case that overturned the Defense of Marriage Act. Nassar self-identifies as gay, something that has made him feel uncomfortable with the Arabic side of his family, and that made him feel uncomfortable in Palestine, where he also had to hide his tattoos and could not wear any jewelry. Nassar lives and works in New York City. | Nassar bases his work on tatreez (Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery) which is typically created in panels which are stitched together into clothing or other items. Nassar typically creates and frames small panels, many around 8 x 10 inches. The panels' patterns typically feature geometric borders and depict plants and flowers, though the thread colors Nassar uses often do not correspond to those shapes, but to subtle landscapes. Nassar's work depicts cultural elements of his upbringing in the Upper West Side, which he likens to traditional Palestinian embroidery, where each village uses distinct symbols. Some designs also feature technology-related motifs, such as computers, which Nassar links with embroidery as the first form of pixelation. Nassar's earliest work involved copying embroidery patterns from books. Once he learned that each Palestinian village has its own pattern, he began to develop his own patterns resembling Palestinian embroidery but that do not exist in traditional works. Each work contains up to 75,000 individual stitches. Nassar draws inspiration from a number of artists, many of whom work in textile, such as Sheila Hicks, Hannah Ryggen, and Anni Albers; painters including Paul Guiragossian and Helen Frankenthaler; and artists working with alternative media, such as Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian. He sees his work as continuing the conversations their artwork has created. He considers their efforts to be about form, texture, and color, though Nassar primarily tries to address concepts and issues beyond the medium itself. Nassar particularly looks up to Etel Adnan, a Lebanese-American poet, essayist, and visual artist. Since Nassar's first solo exhibition, in London in 2015, he has turned to creating more political works, including focusing on cultural absorption, or absorption of elements of one culture by another. Nassar held a solo exhibition in Los Angeles at Anat Ebgi gallery's AE2 space in 2017. Anat Ebgi presented Nassar's work at the 2018 Frieze New York, an art fair in New York City… | artists |
| 80 | 80 | Steven Nielson | Steven | Nielson | M | Steven Nielson is a professional Quality Assurance Engineer, having worked for Lockheed Martin and Hexcel. While employed with Lockheed, Nielson redefined Foreign Object Debris maturity measures for the corporation and their supply chain. He led quality teams in military satellite assembly, test, and integration. He was selected for his expertise in space composites to assist with early design of the Orion Spacecraft within Lockheed Martin where he made significant contributions to the supply chain quality management systems, focusing on development of small/disadvantaged businesses. Nielson ended his career with Lockheed Martin in 2012 after three years of nuclear missile test and fabrication at Naval Submarine Base Bangor. Nielson joined an advanced composites manufacturing facility in Kent, Washington. Nielson specializes in strategic problem solving and continuous improvement initiatives as a senior member of the Quality Management team. Nielson is a noted community leader as early as his high school days, where he used his position as class president to advocate for educational outreach and cross-functional/interdisciplinary education, volunteering throughout his high-school tenure for elementary advisor programs (educational camp), and drug abuse education. Through college, Nielson used his leadership positions to continue educational outreach where he volunteered in elementary settings, teaching science and math to elementary students. Throughout his career Nielson has volunteered for educational outreach programs, such as Advancement Via Individual Determination, and has been a champion for community involvement in the education system. On campus, Nielson was a leader for student's rights, challenging the then University Smoking Ban at the University of Washington. Nielson began volunteering for the Republican Party in 2004, in Santa Clara county. In 2006, he was appointed and re-elected as the Secretary of the Republican Party in Douglas County, Colorado. During this time Nielson was heavily invo… | Nielson married Gretchen Spindler in 2005 in Pierce County, Washington. They had two daughters together, Sawyer and Isley. Citing irreconcilable differences, they separated and divorced in 2011. Nielson remarried in 2012 to educator Alicia K. Hope in Maui County, Hawaii. They have one daughter together, Scarlett. The family resides in Port Orchard, Washington. | Steven Nielson is a professional Quality Assurance Engineer, having worked for Lockheed Martin and Hexcel. While employed with Lockheed, Nielson redefined Foreign Object Debris maturity measures for the corporation and their supply chain. He led quality teams in military satellite assembly, test, and integration. He was selected for his expertise in space composites to assist with early design of the Orion Spacecraft within Lockheed Martin where he made significant contributions to the supply chain quality management systems, focusing on development of small/disadvantaged businesses. Nielson ended his career with Lockheed Martin in 2012 after three years of nuclear missile test and fabrication at Naval Submarine Base Bangor. Nielson joined an advanced composites manufacturing facility in Kent, Washington. Nielson specializes in strategic problem solving and continuous improvement initiatives as a senior member of the Quality Management team. Nielson is a noted community leader as early as his high school days, where he used his position as class president to advocate for educational outreach and cross-functional/interdisciplinary education, volunteering throughout his high-school tenure for elementary advisor programs (educational camp), and drug abuse education. Through college, Nielson used his leadership positions to continue educational outreach where he volunteered in elementary settings, teaching science and math to elementary students. Throughout his career Nielson has volunteered for educational outreach programs, such as Advancement Via Individual Determination, and has been a champion for community involvement in the education system. On campus, Nielson was a leader for student's rights, challenging the then University Smoking Ban at the University of Washington. Nielson began volunteering for the Republican Party in 2004, in Santa Clara county. In 2006, he was appointed and re-elected as the Secretary of the Republican Party in Douglas County, Colorado. During this time Nielson was heavily invo… | artists |
| 81 | 81 | Amar Ramasar | Amar | Ramasar | M | Amar Ramasar was born in the Bronx, New York City. His father, who is of Trinidadian and Indian descent, is a former United States Marine who worked as a computer technician while Amar was growing up. His mother, who is Puerto Rican, worked as a registered nurse. Outgoing and talkative as a child, he says, "No one knew anything about ballet in my family".When Ramasar was 10 years old, he impressed a music teacher in his public school with his creative talents. The teacher urged him to audition for the TADA! Youth Theater. Ramasar was one of two children selected from more than 300 who tried out. Because his parents worked full-time, Ramasar learned to take the New York City Subway from his home in the South Bronx to the studio on the Lower East Side, and rode public transit to get to the daily rehearsals. At the Henry Street Settlement House, where he took daily lessons, Ramasar met Daniel Catanach, a choreographer working with TADA! Youth Theater. Ramasar was 11 years old when Catanach showed him a videotape of the New York City Ballet production of Agon, featuring Heather Watts and Mel Tomlinson. Ramasar became instantly fascinated by ballet. He later recalled thinking to himself, "That's the ballet I want to dance, and that's the company I'm going to get into". Ramasar took his first dance lesson at the Henry Street Settlement House's Abrons Arts Center in 1993. His family was indifferent about his decision to dance. "My father didn't prevent me from doing it, but he didn't make it easy," he says. When Ramasar was 14, Catanach urged him to audition for the School of American Ballet, a school which trains young dancers who wish to try out for the New York City Ballet. He was accepted in 1993, and received his first ballet lesson there. His family had no money to support his dance education, and Ramasar relied exclusively on scholarships to pay his tuition. His first years at the School of American Ballet were difficult. Ramasar was years behind the other boys (some of whom were as young as six years old) in at… | Ramasar began dating Elysia Dawn Fridkin (also known as Elysia Dawn) in 2009, and they married in October 2011. She was formerly a dancer with Complexions Contemporary Ballet, artistic director of the Columbia University Ballet Collaborative, and is currently a Program Associate for MetLiveArts at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Their marriage ended in divorce in 2016. | Amar Ramasar was born in the Bronx, New York City. His father, who is of Trinidadian and Indian descent, is a former United States Marine who worked as a computer technician while Amar was growing up. His mother, who is Puerto Rican, worked as a registered nurse. Outgoing and talkative as a child, he says, "No one knew anything about ballet in my family".When Ramasar was 10 years old, he impressed a music teacher in his public school with his creative talents. The teacher urged him to audition for the TADA! Youth Theater. Ramasar was one of two children selected from more than 300 who tried out. Because his parents worked full-time, Ramasar learned to take the New York City Subway from his home in the South Bronx to the studio on the Lower East Side, and rode public transit to get to the daily rehearsals. At the Henry Street Settlement House, where he took daily lessons, Ramasar met Daniel Catanach, a choreographer working with TADA! Youth Theater. Ramasar was 11 years old when Catanach showed him a videotape of the New York City Ballet production of Agon, featuring Heather Watts and Mel Tomlinson. Ramasar became instantly fascinated by ballet. He later recalled thinking to himself, "That's the ballet I want to dance, and that's the company I'm going to get into". Ramasar took his first dance lesson at the Henry Street Settlement House's Abrons Arts Center in 1993. His family was indifferent about his decision to dance. "My father didn't prevent me from doing it, but he didn't make it easy," he says. When Ramasar was 14, Catanach urged him to audition for the School of American Ballet, a school which trains young dancers who wish to try out for the New York City Ballet. He was accepted in 1993, and received his first ballet lesson there. His family had no money to support his dance education, and Ramasar relied exclusively on scholarships to pay his tuition. His first years at the School of American Ballet were difficult. Ramasar was years behind the other boys (some of whom were as young as six years old) in at… | artists |
| 82 | 82 | Mohan Samant | Mohan | Samant | M | Samant received his diploma from the Sir J.J. School of Art in 1952, where he studied under S.B. (Shankar Balwant) Palsikar. In 1954 he was awarded the Governor's Prize and the silver medal for water colors at the Bombay Art Society Annual Exhibition. In 1952, Samant joined the Progressive Artists' Group and exhibited with them in several shows, including the 1953 exhibition, Progressive Artists' Group: Gaitonde, Raiba, Ara, Hazarnis, Khanna, Husain, Samant, Gade, at the Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai. He also participated in the Bombay Group, a successor to the Bombay PAG. According to artist Baburao Sadwelkar, the Bombay Group, which included Samant as well as Hebbar, Ara, Chavda, Kulkarni, Laxman Pai, Har Krishnan Lall, and Sadwelkar, had "six big exhibitions , which were received extremely well." Samant did not mention the Bombay Group in interviews or recorded conversations, but a review from The Times of India confirms that he had works in their November 1956 exhibition. In 1956, Samant was awarded the Gold Medal at the Bombay Art Society's group exhibition, another at the Calcutta Art Society show, and the Lalit Kala Akademi All India Award. That same year, he took part in the seminal exhibition, Eight Painters: Bendre, Gaitonde, Gujral, Husain, Khanna, Kulkarni, Kumar, Samant, curated by Thomas Keehn, and in the Venice Biennale. Samant spent 1957-58 in Rome on a scholarship awarded by the Italian government. In February 1959, a Rockefeller Fellowship took him to New York City, where he would remain until 1964. Exhibitions during Samant's first New York period included what is considered the first showing of the Progressive Artists' Group in America, Trends in Contemporary Painting from India: Gaitonde, Husain, Khanna, Kumar, Padamsee, Raza, Samant, Souza, curated by Thomas Keehn and held at the Graham Gallery, New York, as well as A Collection of Contemporary Art, Art in Embassies Committee, Museum of Modern Art, New York (1961), Recent Acquisitions, Museum of Modern Art, New York (1963), and Dunn Interna… | In 1971, Samant married Jillian Saunders (born Australia), a performer on the viola da gamba and recorder. At his spacious loft, he hosted performances by visiting Indian musicians. He also performed for friends and accompanied singers. A dedicated musician as well as artist, he practiced sarangi for three hours every morning. Afternoons were dedicated to painting. Samant and Jillian spent many Sundays at MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where Samant would visit current exhibitions. At the Met, he would usually end up in the African or Egyptian galleries, which he found major sources of inspiration. | Samant received his diploma from the Sir J.J. School of Art in 1952, where he studied under S.B. (Shankar Balwant) Palsikar. In 1954 he was awarded the Governor's Prize and the silver medal for water colors at the Bombay Art Society Annual Exhibition. In 1952, Samant joined the Progressive Artists' Group and exhibited with them in several shows, including the 1953 exhibition, Progressive Artists' Group: Gaitonde, Raiba, Ara, Hazarnis, Khanna, Husain, Samant, Gade, at the Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai. He also participated in the Bombay Group, a successor to the Bombay PAG. According to artist Baburao Sadwelkar, the Bombay Group, which included Samant as well as Hebbar, Ara, Chavda, Kulkarni, Laxman Pai, Har Krishnan Lall, and Sadwelkar, had "six big exhibitions , which were received extremely well." Samant did not mention the Bombay Group in interviews or recorded conversations, but a review from The Times of India confirms that he had works in their November 1956 exhibition. In 1956, Samant was awarded the Gold Medal at the Bombay Art Society's group exhibition, another at the Calcutta Art Society show, and the Lalit Kala Akademi All India Award. That same year, he took part in the seminal exhibition, Eight Painters: Bendre, Gaitonde, Gujral, Husain, Khanna, Kulkarni, Kumar, Samant, curated by Thomas Keehn, and in the Venice Biennale. Samant spent 1957-58 in Rome on a scholarship awarded by the Italian government. In February 1959, a Rockefeller Fellowship took him to New York City, where he would remain until 1964. Exhibitions during Samant's first New York period included what is considered the first showing of the Progressive Artists' Group in America, Trends in Contemporary Painting from India: Gaitonde, Husain, Khanna, Kumar, Padamsee, Raza, Samant, Souza, curated by Thomas Keehn and held at the Graham Gallery, New York, as well as A Collection of Contemporary Art, Art in Embassies Committee, Museum of Modern Art, New York (1961), Recent Acquisitions, Museum of Modern Art, New York (1963), and Dunn Interna… | artists |
| 83 | 83 | Todd Sanders | Todd | Sanders | M | After moving to Austin in 1992, Sanders started on a 2-week contract at a small neon sign art gallery called Ion Art. While working at Ion Art, he made his first vintage style neon piece as décor for a local restaurant. In 1995 he opened the first neon studio dedicated to creating weathered, vintage-appearance neon signs. He opened Roadhouse Relics in 1997, which the New York Times has since listed in their to-do list for "36 Hours in Austin, TX". The well-known “Greetings from Austin” mural on the south side of the Roadhouse Relics building was painted the same year with two other artists, Rory Skagen and Bill Brakkage. His work is influenced by Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol and Dan Flavin. Known for weathering and hand painted graphics, his work is sought by collectors worldwide. He has done work for celebrities including Willie Nelson, Shepard Fairey, Norah Jones, Johnny Depp and ZZ Top. His artwork is on the cover of Kings of Leon’s 2013 album, Mechanical Bull. Filmmakers Robert Rodriguez and Terrence Malick have put his work onscreen; it has also appeared in Esquire, Fortune, Texas Monthly, Southern Living, Southwest Airlines’ Spirit and the cover of Signs of the Times magazine. Sanders’ most popular design, his animated, 5-foot by 30-inch “Fireflies in a Mason Jar” was created for the wedding of Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton, a collaboration with his friends the Junk Gypsies. Sanders’ pieces also hang in iconic Austin venues, including the Continental Club and Threadgill's. Sanders was invited to exhibit as a special featured artist in the 2014 Architectural Digest Home Design Show. The largest collection of Todd's neon on public display is in Bentonville, Arkansas. | In 2007, Sanders married Sarah Thompson, who opened a gift shop at the gallery. In 2010, their son John Memphis Sanders was born in Austin. | After moving to Austin in 1992, Sanders started on a 2-week contract at a small neon sign art gallery called Ion Art. While working at Ion Art, he made his first vintage style neon piece as décor for a local restaurant. In 1995 he opened the first neon studio dedicated to creating weathered, vintage-appearance neon signs. He opened Roadhouse Relics in 1997, which the New York Times has since listed in their to-do list for "36 Hours in Austin, TX". The well-known “Greetings from Austin” mural on the south side of the Roadhouse Relics building was painted the same year with two other artists, Rory Skagen and Bill Brakkage. His work is influenced by Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol and Dan Flavin. Known for weathering and hand painted graphics, his work is sought by collectors worldwide. He has done work for celebrities including Willie Nelson, Shepard Fairey, Norah Jones, Johnny Depp and ZZ Top. His artwork is on the cover of Kings of Leon’s 2013 album, Mechanical Bull. Filmmakers Robert Rodriguez and Terrence Malick have put his work onscreen; it has also appeared in Esquire, Fortune, Texas Monthly, Southern Living, Southwest Airlines’ Spirit and the cover of Signs of the Times magazine. Sanders’ most popular design, his animated, 5-foot by 30-inch “Fireflies in a Mason Jar” was created for the wedding of Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton, a collaboration with his friends the Junk Gypsies. Sanders’ pieces also hang in iconic Austin venues, including the Continental Club and Threadgill's. Sanders was invited to exhibit as a special featured artist in the 2014 Architectural Digest Home Design Show. The largest collection of Todd's neon on public display is in Bentonville, Arkansas.In 2007, Sanders married Sarah Thompson, who opened a gift shop at the gallery. In 2010, their son John Memphis Sanders was born in Austin. | artists |
| 84 | 84 | Raghubir Singh | Raghubir | M | Singh first moved to Calcutta to begin a career in the tea industry, as had his elder brother before him. This turned out to be unsuccessful, but by this time, he had started to take photographs. In Calcutta, Singh met the historian R. P. Gupta, who later contributed text for his first book Ganges (1974). Singh was gradually introduced to a circle of city artists who deeply influenced his later work, especially the realism of filmmaker Satyajit Ray, who later designed the cover of his first book and wrote the introduction to his Rajasthan book.:221 This also set a precedent for literary input in his future books, as in the coming years the writer V. S. Naipaul conducted a dialogue with him for the preface to his book Bombay (1994), while R. K. Narayan wrote the introduction to Tamil Nadu (1997). By the mid-1960s, Life Magazine had published eight pages of his photographs about student unrest. He later moved to Hong Kong and started doing photo features for National Geographic Magazine, The New York Times... After a decade of travelling along the Ganges, Singh published his first book Ganges in 1974, with an introduction by Eric Newby. Though his early work was inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson's documentary-style photographs of India, he chose colour as his medium, responding to the vivid colours of India, and over time adapted western techniques to Indian aesthetics. In the 1970s, Singh moved to Paris and over the following three decades, through rigorous training and exposure, he created a series of portfolios of colour photography on India. His style was influenced by Mughal painting and Rajasthani miniature paintings, whose individual sections maintain their autonomy within the overall frame.:223 In his early work, Singh focused on the geographic and social anatomy of cities and regions in India. His work on Bombay in the early 1990s marks a turning point in his stylistic development. Singh published over 14 books. In the last of these, A Way into India (2002), published posthumously, the Ambassador car in wh… | In 1972, he married Anne de Henning, also a photographer, and the couple had a daughter, Devika Singh. Singh died on 18 April 1999 of a heart attack. Upon his death, the art critic Max Kozloff wrote, "If you can imagine what a Rajput miniaturist could have learned from Henri Cartier-Bresson, you'll have a glimmer of Raghubir Singh's aesthetic." | Singh first moved to Calcutta to begin a career in the tea industry, as had his elder brother before him. This turned out to be unsuccessful, but by this time, he had started to take photographs. In Calcutta, Singh met the historian R. P. Gupta, who later contributed text for his first book Ganges (1974). Singh was gradually introduced to a circle of city artists who deeply influenced his later work, especially the realism of filmmaker Satyajit Ray, who later designed the cover of his first book and wrote the introduction to his Rajasthan book.:221 This also set a precedent for literary input in his future books, as in the coming years the writer V. S. Naipaul conducted a dialogue with him for the preface to his book Bombay (1994), while R. K. Narayan wrote the introduction to Tamil Nadu (1997). By the mid-1960s, Life Magazine had published eight pages of his photographs about student unrest. He later moved to Hong Kong and started doing photo features for National Geographic Magazine, The New York Times... After a decade of travelling along the Ganges, Singh published his first book Ganges in 1974, with an introduction by Eric Newby. Though his early work was inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson's documentary-style photographs of India, he chose colour as his medium, responding to the vivid colours of India, and over time adapted western techniques to Indian aesthetics. In the 1970s, Singh moved to Paris and over the following three decades, through rigorous training and exposure, he created a series of portfolios of colour photography on India. His style was influenced by Mughal painting and Rajasthani miniature paintings, whose individual sections maintain their autonomy within the overall frame.:223 In his early work, Singh focused on the geographic and social anatomy of cities and regions in India. His work on Bombay in the early 1990s marks a turning point in his stylistic development. Singh published over 14 books. In the last of these, A Way into India (2002), published posthumously, the Ambassador car in wh… | artists | |
| 85 | 85 | William Travilla | William | Travilla | M | Upon graduating from Woodbury, Travilla began working at Western Costume in Hollywood as ghost-sketcher for studio designers. After a stint at Western, Travilla took a job designing at Jack’s of Hollywood. At Jack’s, he was given assignments working for ice skater and actress Sonja Henie as well as for United Artists and Columbia Pictures. Travilla began selling Tahiti-inspired paintings at the popular tiki bar Don The Beachcomber. Actress Ann Sheridan began collecting Travilla’s work and, shortly thereafter, requested that Warner Bros. hire Travilla as her personal costume designer. His designs for Sheridan were featured in the 1947 film noir Nora Prentiss. The film was a hit and Travilla was hired to design costumes for Sheridan in her next film, the 1948 Western Silver River. After work on several B movies, Travilla worked his way upward through the studio until he earned an Oscar in 1949 for the Errol Flynn swashbuckler Adventures of Don Juan, and in 1951 designed the costumes in the now classic sci-fi tale of morality The Day the Earth Stood Still. He then worked mainly at Twentieth Century-Fox, where his credits included Elia Kazan's Viva Zapata!. By 1952, Travilla had begun working with Marilyn Monroe and created the costumes for Don't Bother to Knock and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. He went on to design the costumes for several more of her films. Travilla created one of the most famous costumes in all of film – the pleated ivory cocktail dress Monroe wore in the 1955 film The Seven Year Itch. Monroe is wearing it while standing on a New York City Subway ventilation grate; the dress rises up around her as a train passes below ground. Photographs of this scene have become synonymous with Monroe herself. The iconic dress, which was later purchased by actress Debbie Reynolds, sold for $4,600,000 (USD) during a 2011 auction. Besides winning his first Oscar, Travilla was also nominated for the Academy Award for How to Marry a Millionaire in 1953, There's No Business Like Show Business in 1954 and The Stripper in 1… | On August 19, 1944, Travilla married actress Dona Drake in Santa Monica, California. The couple had a daughter, Nia, in August 1951. Travilla and Drake separated in 1956 but remained legally married until Drake’s death in 1989. | Upon graduating from Woodbury, Travilla began working at Western Costume in Hollywood as ghost-sketcher for studio designers. After a stint at Western, Travilla took a job designing at Jack’s of Hollywood. At Jack’s, he was given assignments working for ice skater and actress Sonja Henie as well as for United Artists and Columbia Pictures. Travilla began selling Tahiti-inspired paintings at the popular tiki bar Don The Beachcomber. Actress Ann Sheridan began collecting Travilla’s work and, shortly thereafter, requested that Warner Bros. hire Travilla as her personal costume designer. His designs for Sheridan were featured in the 1947 film noir Nora Prentiss. The film was a hit and Travilla was hired to design costumes for Sheridan in her next film, the 1948 Western Silver River. After work on several B movies, Travilla worked his way upward through the studio until he earned an Oscar in 1949 for the Errol Flynn swashbuckler Adventures of Don Juan, and in 1951 designed the costumes in the now classic sci-fi tale of morality The Day the Earth Stood Still. He then worked mainly at Twentieth Century-Fox, where his credits included Elia Kazan's Viva Zapata!. By 1952, Travilla had begun working with Marilyn Monroe and created the costumes for Don't Bother to Knock and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. He went on to design the costumes for several more of her films. Travilla created one of the most famous costumes in all of film – the pleated ivory cocktail dress Monroe wore in the 1955 film The Seven Year Itch. Monroe is wearing it while standing on a New York City Subway ventilation grate; the dress rises up around her as a train passes below ground. Photographs of this scene have become synonymous with Monroe herself. The iconic dress, which was later purchased by actress Debbie Reynolds, sold for $4,600,000 (USD) during a 2011 auction. Besides winning his first Oscar, Travilla was also nominated for the Academy Award for How to Marry a Millionaire in 1953, There's No Business Like Show Business in 1954 and The Stripper in 1… | artists |
| 86 | 86 | Guillermo Wagner Granizo | Guillermo | Granizo | M | Granizo worked as an art director at KRON-TV, a television station in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1950s, and later worked on directing educational films. He started doing ceramic tile murals in 1970, and at that time he changed his name to Guillermo Wagner Granizo. He worked with the Stonelight Tile Company of San Jose for many years. His works are made of brightly colored ceramic tiles, and feature bold geometric shapes and abstract characters. He would often sign his work "BWG". | After World War II, Granizo married Amalia Mary "Mollie" Castillo, from a prominent Guatemala family. They had two sons and divorced in the early 1970s. Granizo's second marriage was to artist Lark Lucas, and they lived in Ben Lomond, California. They separated in 1984, and Granizo moved to San Jose, California to be closer to the tile factory. Granizo moved to Benicia, California in 1980 and resided there until his death in 1995. He died in November 1995 in Benicia, from cancer. | Granizo worked as an art director at KRON-TV, a television station in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1950s, and later worked on directing educational films. He started doing ceramic tile murals in 1970, and at that time he changed his name to Guillermo Wagner Granizo. He worked with the Stonelight Tile Company of San Jose for many years. His works are made of brightly colored ceramic tiles, and feature bold geometric shapes and abstract characters. He would often sign his work "BWG".After World War II, Granizo married Amalia Mary "Mollie" Castillo, from a prominent Guatemala family. They had two sons and divorced in the early 1970s. Granizo's second marriage was to artist Lark Lucas, and they lived in Ben Lomond, California. They separated in 1984, and Granizo moved to San Jose, California to be closer to the tile factory. Granizo moved to Benicia, California in 1980 and resided there until his death in 1995. He died in November 1995 in Benicia, from cancer. | artists |
| 87 | 87 | Jack Albertson | Jack | Albertson | M | Albertson joined the vaudeville road troupe known as the Dancing Verselle Sisters. He then worked in burlesque as a hoofer (soft shoe dancer) and straight man to Phil Silvers on the Minsky's Burlesque Circuit. Besides vaudeville and burlesque, he appeared on the stage in many Broadway plays and musicals, including High Button Shoes, Top Banana, The Cradle Will Rock, Make Mine Manhattan, Show Boat, Boy Meets Girl, Girl Crazy, Meet the People, The Sunshine Boys – for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor, and The Subject Was Roses – for which he won a Tony for Best Supporting Actor. Albertson appeared in more than 30 films. He had an early minor role in Miracle on 34th Street as a postal worker who redirects dead letters addressed to "Santa Claus" to the courthouse where Kris Kringle is on trial. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1968 film The Subject Was Roses. He later apologized to child actor and fellow nominee Jack Wild for winning the award; Albertson expected Wild to win for his role in Oliver! Albertson appeared as Charlie Bucket's Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), and in The Poseidon Adventure (1972), where he played Manny Rosen, husband to Belle, played by Shelley Winters. The actor Arthur O'Connell, who physically resembled Albertson, also appeared in the movie as the ship's chaplain. Albertson said that his one regret was that he did not reprise his role in the movie version of The Sunshine Boys. When producer Ray Stark acquired the film rights from Neil Simon in 1973, Albertson was expected to play the part, but by the time MGM had bought the rights in 1974 and was preparing to begin filming in February 1975, Albertson was not available because he was appearing on Chico and the Man on TV. Albertson was a radio performer early in his career. Among the shows he appeared on were Just Plain Bill, Lefty, That's My Pop and The Jack Albertson Comedy Show. In the late 1940s he was for a time a regular on the Milton Berle Show. Al… | He resided for many years in West Hollywood, California. In 1978, he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer, but kept this information private and continued to act. Two of his last roles were in the television movies, My Body, My Child (1982) and Grandpa, Will You Run with Me? (1983), both filmed in 1981 and released posthumously. His final theatrical role was as the ill-tempered hunter, Amos Slade, in Disney's 24th animated feature, The Fox and the Hound, originally released in the summer of 1981, four months before his death. He and his wife, June (July 23, 1924 – January 9, 2015) had a daughter, Maura Dhu.On the morning of November 25, 1981, Albertson died at his Hollywood Hills home at the age of 74 from colon cancer. He and his elder sister, Mabel Albertson, (who died ten months later from Alzheimer's disease) were cremated and their ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean. | Albertson joined the vaudeville road troupe known as the Dancing Verselle Sisters. He then worked in burlesque as a hoofer (soft shoe dancer) and straight man to Phil Silvers on the Minsky's Burlesque Circuit. Besides vaudeville and burlesque, he appeared on the stage in many Broadway plays and musicals, including High Button Shoes, Top Banana, The Cradle Will Rock, Make Mine Manhattan, Show Boat, Boy Meets Girl, Girl Crazy, Meet the People, The Sunshine Boys – for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor, and The Subject Was Roses – for which he won a Tony for Best Supporting Actor. Albertson appeared in more than 30 films. He had an early minor role in Miracle on 34th Street as a postal worker who redirects dead letters addressed to "Santa Claus" to the courthouse where Kris Kringle is on trial. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1968 film The Subject Was Roses. He later apologized to child actor and fellow nominee Jack Wild for winning the award; Albertson expected Wild to win for his role in Oliver! Albertson appeared as Charlie Bucket's Grandpa Joe in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), and in The Poseidon Adventure (1972), where he played Manny Rosen, husband to Belle, played by Shelley Winters. The actor Arthur O'Connell, who physically resembled Albertson, also appeared in the movie as the ship's chaplain. Albertson said that his one regret was that he did not reprise his role in the movie version of The Sunshine Boys. When producer Ray Stark acquired the film rights from Neil Simon in 1973, Albertson was expected to play the part, but by the time MGM had bought the rights in 1974 and was preparing to begin filming in February 1975, Albertson was not available because he was appearing on Chico and the Man on TV. Albertson was a radio performer early in his career. Among the shows he appeared on were Just Plain Bill, Lefty, That's My Pop and The Jack Albertson Comedy Show. In the late 1940s he was for a time a regular on the Milton Berle Show. Al… | dancers |
| 88 | 88 | Flex Alexander | Flex | Alexander | M | Alexander's first television role was on the short-lived 1993 ABC sitcom Where I Live, starring Doug E. Doug. Despite being critically acclaimed, the series was canceled that same year. Alexander then guest starred on episodes of Sister, Sister and The Cosby Mysteries before moving to Los Angeles in 1995 to concentrate on acting. In 1996, he landed a starring role on another short-lived sitcom Homeboys in Outer Space. The series was critically panned and canceled the following year. Later that year, Alexander co-starred in yet another short-lived series, the Steven Bochco-created Total Security. Following Total Security's run, Alexander guest starred on Brooklyn South and The Parkers, and also had roles in several films including the 1998 direct-to-video release Backroom Bodega Boyz and She's All That (1999). From 2000 to 2001, Alexander appeared as Maya Wilkes' husband Darnell during the first season of the UPN sitcom Girlfriends. He left Girlfriends to star as single father Mark "Flex" Washington on the UPN sitcom One on One, a series he created and produced. For his role on the series, Alexander was nominated for three NAACP Image Awards and two BET Comedy Awards. In 2004, he portrayed Michael Jackson in the VH1 television biopic Man In The Mirror: The Michael Jackson Story, which garnered him another NAACP Image Award nomination. Alexander returned to One on One for two more seasons, however, during the last season, his character was written out and reduced to a recurring role when the show's premise was rebooted. Following the end of One On One, Alexander had roles in the 2006 film Snakes on a Plane, opposite Samuel L. Jackson, and the 2007 horror film The Hills Have Eyes 2. He also had a role in Clement Virgo's Poor Boy's Game, with Danny Glover. Alexander's most recent role was in a 2007 episode of CSI: Miami. Flex and his wife, Shanice, will have their own reality show Flex & Shanice premiering November 1, 2014, on OWN. In September 19, 2005, he did return for the fifth and final season of One On One. | Alexander, a born-again Christian, married R&B singer Shanice Wilson on Valentine's Day 2000. They have two children, daughter Imani Shekinah Alexander-Knox (born August 23, 2001) and son Elijah Alexander-Knox (born March 5, 2004). Flex is a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity. | Alexander's first television role was on the short-lived 1993 ABC sitcom Where I Live, starring Doug E. Doug. Despite being critically acclaimed, the series was canceled that same year. Alexander then guest starred on episodes of Sister, Sister and The Cosby Mysteries before moving to Los Angeles in 1995 to concentrate on acting. In 1996, he landed a starring role on another short-lived sitcom Homeboys in Outer Space. The series was critically panned and canceled the following year. Later that year, Alexander co-starred in yet another short-lived series, the Steven Bochco-created Total Security. Following Total Security's run, Alexander guest starred on Brooklyn South and The Parkers, and also had roles in several films including the 1998 direct-to-video release Backroom Bodega Boyz and She's All That (1999). From 2000 to 2001, Alexander appeared as Maya Wilkes' husband Darnell during the first season of the UPN sitcom Girlfriends. He left Girlfriends to star as single father Mark "Flex" Washington on the UPN sitcom One on One, a series he created and produced. For his role on the series, Alexander was nominated for three NAACP Image Awards and two BET Comedy Awards. In 2004, he portrayed Michael Jackson in the VH1 television biopic Man In The Mirror: The Michael Jackson Story, which garnered him another NAACP Image Award nomination. Alexander returned to One on One for two more seasons, however, during the last season, his character was written out and reduced to a recurring role when the show's premise was rebooted. Following the end of One On One, Alexander had roles in the 2006 film Snakes on a Plane, opposite Samuel L. Jackson, and the 2007 horror film The Hills Have Eyes 2. He also had a role in Clement Virgo's Poor Boy's Game, with Danny Glover. Alexander's most recent role was in a 2007 episode of CSI: Miami. Flex and his wife, Shanice, will have their own reality show Flex & Shanice premiering November 1, 2014, on OWN. In September 19, 2005, he did return for the fifth and final season of One On One.Ale… | dancers |
| 89 | 89 | Louis Van Amstel | Louis | Amstel | M | Van Amstel competed professionally with Julie Fryer, and they were coached by Ruud Vermeij. In 1990, Van Amstel and Fryer became Dutch Latin Champions and 10 Dance Champions. They also made the final in Blackpool in the 'under 21' category. The very same year, they received a bronze medal at the German Open, at the World Latin and at the European 10 Dance. In the Worlds 10 Dance Championship, Van Amstel and Fryer got fourth place. In 1991 Van Amstel and Fryer won the national championships for the second time, and got fourth place in all major championships. A year later, Van Amstel decided that he wanted to retire from competing for a while, and came to the point where he finished his partnership with Fryer for the first time. Three years later, in 1994, the partnership was re-established, and Van Amstel and Fryer went on to win three world Latin Dance championship gold medals in 1994, 1995 and 1996. In 1997, Van Amstel retired from competitive ballroom dancing, moved to New York City, and became an American citizen in July 1999. He returned to competitive dancing with partner Karina Smirnoff; they won the United States national championship in 2000. Van Amstel was cast for season one of Dancing with the Stars in early 2005. He was partnered with Trista Sutter, but they were the first to be eliminated from the competition. In the show's second season, he was partnered with hostess Lisa Rinna, with whom he reached fourth place. Van Amstel returned in season three and was partnered with High School Musical star Monique Coleman. During the eighth week of the competition, they received two 10s for their Cha-Cha-Cha marking Van Amstel's only 10s of Dancing With The Stars for an individual dance for many seasons to come. They made it to the semi-finals, but were eliminated, resulting in a fourth-place finish. He did not participate in the fourth season due to all the females being taller than him, but he nonetheless maintained a role as a performer and choreographer throughout the season and season five. He returned i… | Van Amstel is openly gay. However, he does not explicitly use the word "gay" because he does not want to be stigmatized. On January 8, 2017, Van Amstel married his long-time boyfriend Joshua Lancaster in Sundance, Utah. They adopted their son, Daniel van Amstel in December 2019. In May 2020, Van Amstel revealed that he and Lancaster are adopting a second son, Jonathan. In November 2019, Van Amstel made headlines after he revealed that a substitute teacher shamed his son for having two gay dads and forced his class to endure a 10-minute anti-gay lecture. The school promptly fired the teacher. | Van Amstel competed professionally with Julie Fryer, and they were coached by Ruud Vermeij. In 1990, Van Amstel and Fryer became Dutch Latin Champions and 10 Dance Champions. They also made the final in Blackpool in the 'under 21' category. The very same year, they received a bronze medal at the German Open, at the World Latin and at the European 10 Dance. In the Worlds 10 Dance Championship, Van Amstel and Fryer got fourth place. In 1991 Van Amstel and Fryer won the national championships for the second time, and got fourth place in all major championships. A year later, Van Amstel decided that he wanted to retire from competing for a while, and came to the point where he finished his partnership with Fryer for the first time. Three years later, in 1994, the partnership was re-established, and Van Amstel and Fryer went on to win three world Latin Dance championship gold medals in 1994, 1995 and 1996. In 1997, Van Amstel retired from competitive ballroom dancing, moved to New York City, and became an American citizen in July 1999. He returned to competitive dancing with partner Karina Smirnoff; they won the United States national championship in 2000. Van Amstel was cast for season one of Dancing with the Stars in early 2005. He was partnered with Trista Sutter, but they were the first to be eliminated from the competition. In the show's second season, he was partnered with hostess Lisa Rinna, with whom he reached fourth place. Van Amstel returned in season three and was partnered with High School Musical star Monique Coleman. During the eighth week of the competition, they received two 10s for their Cha-Cha-Cha marking Van Amstel's only 10s of Dancing With The Stars for an individual dance for many seasons to come. They made it to the semi-finals, but were eliminated, resulting in a fourth-place finish. He did not participate in the fourth season due to all the females being taller than him, but he nonetheless maintained a role as a performer and choreographer throughout the season and season five. He returned i… | dancers |
| 90 | 90 | Mark Ballas | Mark | Ballas | M | Ballas attended Rosemead Preparatory School in South London. At the age of 11, he earned a full-time slot at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London, as well as earning a full scholarship. In 2005, he was awarded "Performer of the Year". He then moved on to win championships at The British Open to the World, The US Open to the World, and The International Open to the World. With his former partner Julianne Hough, he won the Junior Latin American Dance Championship and the gold medal at the Junior Olympics. As an actor, Ballas played the lead role of Tony in the musical Copacabana and was the lead dancer in the UK national tour of the Spanish musical Maria de Buenos Aires. He was also the understudy for the role of Ritchie Valens in the UK national tour of Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story. Ballas played an extra in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as part of the Hufflepuff House. In October 2008, Ballas made a guest appearance on the season premiere of Samantha Who. On 6 September 2016, it was announced that Ballas would be the final actor to portray the role of Frankie Valli in the Broadway cast of Jersey Boys before it closes in 2017. On 26 May 2018, it was announced that he would play the role of the Teen Angel in the 2018 Toronto revival of Grease in a limited engagement from 7–10 June. From 11 September 2018 to 18 November 2018, Ballas portrayed Charlie Price in the musical Kinky Boots on Broadway. On the fifth season of Dancing with the Stars, Ballas was partnered with Cheetah Girls star Sabrina Bryan. On 30 October 2007, the pair was voted off the show. They have been the only couple invited back for an exhibition dance. Ballas's partner for season 6 of Dancing with the Stars was Olympic Gold Medal-winning figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi. They won the season. On 25 August 2008, ABC announced the cast of the seventh season of Dancing with the Stars, with Ballas paired with reality television star Kim Kardashian. They were the third couple eliminated, finishing in eleventh place, on 30 September 20… | Ballas was born in Houston, Texas, the son of dancers Corky Ballas and Shirley Ballas (née Rich). His paternal grandparents were of Mexican and Greek background, and his mother is originally from the United Kingdom and is of English heritage; she has also discovered that she has distant Black/Asian ancestry from Madagascar. His paternal grandfather, George Ballas, was the inventor of the Weed Eater lawn-trimming device. His paternal great-grandparents, Karolos ("Charles") Ballas and Maria Lymnaos were immigrants to the United States from Greece. Ballas is a member of singer-songwriter duo Alexander Jean along with his wife, BC Jean. The two became engaged in November 2015 after three years of dating, and were married on 25 November 2016, in Malibu, California. | Ballas was born in Houston, Texas, the son of dancers Corky Ballas and Shirley Ballas (née Rich). His paternal grandparents were of Mexican and Greek background, and his mother is originally from the United Kingdom and is of English heritage; she has also discovered that she has distant Black/Asian ancestry from Madagascar. His paternal grandfather, George Ballas, was the inventor of the Weed Eater lawn-trimming device. His paternal great-grandparents, Karolos ("Charles") Ballas and Maria Lymnaos were immigrants to the United States from Greece. Ballas is a member of singer-songwriter duo Alexander Jean along with his wife, BC Jean. The two became engaged in November 2015 after three years of dating, and were married on 25 November 2016, in Malibu, California.Ballas attended Rosemead Preparatory School in South London. At the age of 11, he earned a full-time slot at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London, as well as earning a full scholarship. In 2005, he was awarded "Performer of the Year". He then moved on to win championships at The British Open to the World, The US Open to the World, and The International Open to the World. With his former partner Julianne Hough, he won the Junior Latin American Dance Championship and the gold medal at the Junior Olympics. As an actor, Ballas played the lead role of Tony in the musical Copacabana and was the lead dancer in the UK national tour of the Spanish musical Maria de Buenos Aires. He was also the understudy for the role of Ritchie Valens in the UK national tour of Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story. Ballas played an extra in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as part of the Hufflepuff House. In October 2008, Ballas made a guest appearance on the season premiere of Samantha Who. On 6 September 2016, it was announced that Ballas would be the final actor to portray the role of Frankie Valli in the Broadway cast of Jersey Boys before it closes in 2017. On 26 May 2018, it was announced that he would play the role of the Teen Angel in the 2018 Toronto revival of Gr… | dancers |
| 91 | 91 | Michael Bennett | Michael | M | Bennett was born Michael Bennett DiFiglia in Buffalo, New York, the son of Helen (née Ternoff), a secretary, and Salvatore Joseph DiFiglia, a factory worker. His father was Italian American and his mother was Jewish. He studied dance and choreography in his teens and staged a number of shows in his local high school before dropping out to accept the role of Baby John in the US and European tours of West Side Story. Bennett's career as a Broadway dancer began in the 1961 Betty Comden–Adolph Green–Jule Styne musical Subways Are for Sleeping, after which he appeared in Meredith Willson's Here's Love and the short-lived Bajour. In the mid-1960s he was a featured dancer on the NBC pop music series Hullabaloo, where he met fellow dancer Donna McKechnie. Bennett made his choreographic debut with A Joyful Noise (1966), which lasted only twelve performances, and in 1967 followed it with another failure, Henry, Sweet Henry (based on the Peter Sellers film The World of Henry Orient). Success finally arrived in 1968, when he choreographed the hit musical Promises, Promises on Broadway. With a contemporary pop score by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, a wisecracking book by Neil Simon and Bennett's well-received production numbers, including "Turkey Lurkey Time", the show ran for 1,281 performances. Over the next few years, he earned praise for his work on the straight play Twigs with Sada Thompson and the musical Coco with Katharine Hepburn. These were followed by two Stephen Sondheim productions, Company and Follies co-directed with Hal Prince. In 1973, Bennett was asked by producers Joseph Kipness and Larry Kasha to take over the ailing Cy Coleman–Dorothy Fields musical Seesaw. In replacing the director Ed Sherin and choreographer Grover Dale, he asked for absolute control over the production as director and choreographer and received credit as "having written, directed, and choreographed" the show. | Bennett was bisexual. He had numerous affairs with both men and women. In his younger days, Bennett had a relationship with Larry Fuller, a dancer, choreographer and director. He had a long professional and personal relationship with the virtuoso dancer Donna McKechnie, who danced his work in both Promises, Promises and Company and won the 1976 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in the role he had created for her in A Chorus Line. They married on December 4, 1976, but after only a few months they separated and eventually divorced in 1979. In the late 1970s he began an affair with Sabine Cassel, the then-wife of French actor Jean-Pierre Cassel. She left her family in Paris to live with Bennett in Manhattan, but the relationship soured. Bennett's addictions to alcohol and drugs, notably cocaine and quaaludes, severely affected his ability to work and affected many of his professional and personal relationships. His paranoia grew as his dependency did. Worried by his celebrity and his father's Italian background, he began to suspect he might fall victim to a Mafia hit. Bennett's last lover was Gene Pruit. In 1986 both Pruit and friend Bob Herr lived with Bennett for the last eight months of his life in Tucson, Arizona, where he received care at the Arizona Medical Center. Bennett died from AIDS-related lymphoma at the age of 44. He left a portion of his estate to fund research to fight the pandemic. Bennett's memorial service took place at the Shubert Theatre in New York City (the home at that time of A Chorus Line) on September 29, 1987. | Bennett was born Michael Bennett DiFiglia in Buffalo, New York, the son of Helen (née Ternoff), a secretary, and Salvatore Joseph DiFiglia, a factory worker. His father was Italian American and his mother was Jewish. He studied dance and choreography in his teens and staged a number of shows in his local high school before dropping out to accept the role of Baby John in the US and European tours of West Side Story. Bennett's career as a Broadway dancer began in the 1961 Betty Comden–Adolph Green–Jule Styne musical Subways Are for Sleeping, after which he appeared in Meredith Willson's Here's Love and the short-lived Bajour. In the mid-1960s he was a featured dancer on the NBC pop music series Hullabaloo, where he met fellow dancer Donna McKechnie. Bennett made his choreographic debut with A Joyful Noise (1966), which lasted only twelve performances, and in 1967 followed it with another failure, Henry, Sweet Henry (based on the Peter Sellers film The World of Henry Orient). Success finally arrived in 1968, when he choreographed the hit musical Promises, Promises on Broadway. With a contemporary pop score by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, a wisecracking book by Neil Simon and Bennett's well-received production numbers, including "Turkey Lurkey Time", the show ran for 1,281 performances. Over the next few years, he earned praise for his work on the straight play Twigs with Sada Thompson and the musical Coco with Katharine Hepburn. These were followed by two Stephen Sondheim productions, Company and Follies co-directed with Hal Prince. In 1973, Bennett was asked by producers Joseph Kipness and Larry Kasha to take over the ailing Cy Coleman–Dorothy Fields musical Seesaw. In replacing the director Ed Sherin and choreographer Grover Dale, he asked for absolute control over the production as director and choreographer and received credit as "having written, directed, and choreographed" the show.Bennett was bisexual. He had numerous affairs with both men and women. In his younger days, Bennett had a relationship with Larry… | dancers | |
| 92 | 92 | Ken Berry | Ken | Berry | M | Berry was born in Moline in Rock Island County in Northwestern Illinois, one of two children of an accountant, Darrell Berry, and his wife, Bernice. Berry was of Swedish-English descent. Berry realized he wanted to be a dancer and singer at age 12, as he watched a children's dance performance during a school assembly. He dreamed of starring in movie musicals and went to the movie theater to see Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly in some of his favorite films, including Easter Parade, Royal Wedding, On the Town, and Summer Stock. Berry immediately started tap dance class and, at age 15, won a local talent competition sponsored by radio and television big band leader Horace Heidt. Heidt asked Berry to join his traveling performance ensemble, "The Horace Heidt Youth Opportunity Program", a popular touring group. He toured the United States and Europe for 15 months with the program, dancing and singing for the public and at post-World War II United States Air Force bases overseas. Berry made lasting relationships with several of his co-cast members and Horace's son, Horace Heidt Jr., who later launched a big band and radio career. After high school graduation, Berry volunteered for the United States Army, and was assigned to Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina. His first year in the Army was spent in the artillery, where he entered a post talent contest; the winner went on Arlene Francis' Soldier Parade in New York City. Berry, who always carried his tap shoes with him, worked out a routine and a few hours later won the contest. He headed to New York for his television debut. Berry's second and final year in the Army was with Special Services, under Sergeant Leonard Nimoy, who encouraged Berry to go to Hollywood and pursue acting. As a part of Special Services, he toured Army posts and officers' clubs entertaining the troops, as well as visiting colleges for recruiting purposes. Soon, another talent competition was held, the All Army Talent Competition, looking to find service personnel to appear on Ed Sullivan's To… | Berry married Jackie Joseph, a Billy Barnes castmate, on May 29, 1960. They adopted two children together — son John Kenneth in 1964 and daughter Jennifer Kate in 1965. They divorced in 1976. His son John, who later became a co-founder of the Indie rock band Idaho, died in 2016 of brain cancer at the age of 51. Berry's long time partner and companion, Susie Walsh, a stage manager, had been with him for the last 24 years. Berry "loved cars and anything with wheels" from the time he was a young child, particularly smaller cars, and maintained a 1966 Mini Moke. An avid motorcyclist, he camped and rode the local Los Angeles mountain ranges. | Berry was born in Moline in Rock Island County in Northwestern Illinois, one of two children of an accountant, Darrell Berry, and his wife, Bernice. Berry was of Swedish-English descent. Berry realized he wanted to be a dancer and singer at age 12, as he watched a children's dance performance during a school assembly. He dreamed of starring in movie musicals and went to the movie theater to see Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly in some of his favorite films, including Easter Parade, Royal Wedding, On the Town, and Summer Stock. Berry immediately started tap dance class and, at age 15, won a local talent competition sponsored by radio and television big band leader Horace Heidt. Heidt asked Berry to join his traveling performance ensemble, "The Horace Heidt Youth Opportunity Program", a popular touring group. He toured the United States and Europe for 15 months with the program, dancing and singing for the public and at post-World War II United States Air Force bases overseas. Berry made lasting relationships with several of his co-cast members and Horace's son, Horace Heidt Jr., who later launched a big band and radio career. After high school graduation, Berry volunteered for the United States Army, and was assigned to Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina. His first year in the Army was spent in the artillery, where he entered a post talent contest; the winner went on Arlene Francis' Soldier Parade in New York City. Berry, who always carried his tap shoes with him, worked out a routine and a few hours later won the contest. He headed to New York for his television debut. Berry's second and final year in the Army was with Special Services, under Sergeant Leonard Nimoy, who encouraged Berry to go to Hollywood and pursue acting. As a part of Special Services, he toured Army posts and officers' clubs entertaining the troops, as well as visiting colleges for recruiting purposes. Soon, another talent competition was held, the All Army Talent Competition, looking to find service personnel to appear on Ed Sullivan's To… | dancers |
| 93 | 93 | Ray Bolger | Ray | Bolger | M | His entertainment aspirations evolved from the vaudeville shows of his youth. He began his career in a vaudeville tap show, creating the act "Sanford & Bolger" with his dance partner. In 1926, he danced at New York City's legendary Palace Theatre, the premier vaudeville theatre in the United States. His limber body and improvisational dance movement won him many leading roles on Broadway in the 1930s. Eventually, his career would also encompass film, television and nightclub work. In 1932 he was elected to the theater club, The Lambs and performed on opening night at Radio City Music Hall in December 1932. Bolger signed his first cinema contract with MGM in 1936, and although The Wizard of Oz was early in his film career, he appeared in other movies of note. His best known pre-Oz appearance was The Great Ziegfeld (1936), in which he portrayed himself. He also appeared in Sweethearts (1938), the first MGM film in Technicolor, starring Nelson Eddy, Jeanette MacDonald. He also appeared in the Eleanor Powell vehicle Rosalie (1937), which also starred Eddy and Frank Morgan. Bolger's MGM contract stipulated that he would play any part the studio chose. However, he was unhappy when he was originally cast as the Tin Woodman in the studio's 1939 feature film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. The role of the Scarecrow had already been assigned to another dancing studio contract player, Buddy Ebsen. In time, the roles were shuffled around. Bolger's face was permanently lined by wearing the Scarecrow's makeup. Following The Wizard of Oz, Bolger moved to RKO Pictures. In 1941, he was a featured act at the Paramount Theatre in New York, working with the Harry James Band. He would do tap dance routines, sometimes in a mock-challenge dance with the band's pianist, Al Lerner. One day during this period, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and Bolger's performance was interrupted by President Roosevelt's announcement of the news of the attack. Bolger toured in USO shows in the Pacific Theater during World War II, and appeared in the… | Bolger was married to Gwendolyn Rickard for over 57 years. They had no children. Bolger's great-nephew is actor John Bolger. Bolger was a lifelong Republican who campaigned for Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election andRichard Nixon in 1968. | His entertainment aspirations evolved from the vaudeville shows of his youth. He began his career in a vaudeville tap show, creating the act "Sanford & Bolger" with his dance partner. In 1926, he danced at New York City's legendary Palace Theatre, the premier vaudeville theatre in the United States. His limber body and improvisational dance movement won him many leading roles on Broadway in the 1930s. Eventually, his career would also encompass film, television and nightclub work. In 1932 he was elected to the theater club, The Lambs and performed on opening night at Radio City Music Hall in December 1932. Bolger signed his first cinema contract with MGM in 1936, and although The Wizard of Oz was early in his film career, he appeared in other movies of note. His best known pre-Oz appearance was The Great Ziegfeld (1936), in which he portrayed himself. He also appeared in Sweethearts (1938), the first MGM film in Technicolor, starring Nelson Eddy, Jeanette MacDonald. He also appeared in the Eleanor Powell vehicle Rosalie (1937), which also starred Eddy and Frank Morgan. Bolger's MGM contract stipulated that he would play any part the studio chose. However, he was unhappy when he was originally cast as the Tin Woodman in the studio's 1939 feature film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. The role of the Scarecrow had already been assigned to another dancing studio contract player, Buddy Ebsen. In time, the roles were shuffled around. Bolger's face was permanently lined by wearing the Scarecrow's makeup. Following The Wizard of Oz, Bolger moved to RKO Pictures. In 1941, he was a featured act at the Paramount Theatre in New York, working with the Harry James Band. He would do tap dance routines, sometimes in a mock-challenge dance with the band's pianist, Al Lerner. One day during this period, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and Bolger's performance was interrupted by President Roosevelt's announcement of the news of the attack. Bolger toured in USO shows in the Pacific Theater during World War II, and appeared in the… | dancers |
| 94 | 94 | Christian Borle | Christian | Borle | M | Borle made his Broadway debut in 1998, understudying the role of Willard J. Hewitt in the stage adaptation of the film Footloose. He was featured in the 2000 revival of Jesus Christ Superstar, and was the dance captain and understudy for several characters for the short-lived 2002 musical Amour. Borle appeared in a 2003 advertisement for California-based online auction company eBay. In the 30-second TV spot, Borle plays a store clerk who breaks into song and dance when asked about a product. The song, "That's on eBay" was a parody of the standard "That's Amore". Also in 2003, he replaced Gavin Creel in the role of Jimmy in Thoroughly Modern Millie. He married his co-star, actress Sutton Foster, who had played Millie, in September 2006. On a radio interview in 2010 it was confirmed that Borle and Foster had separated. Borle performed in Monty Python's Spamalot, in which he originated a number of roles, including Prince Herbert and the Historian. His performance earned him a 2005 Drama Desk Award nomination as Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical and a Broadway.com Audience Award as Favorite Featured Actor in a Musical. He is known on Broadway for originating the role of Emmett Forrest in Legally Blonde, for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. The musical is based on MGM's 2001 film of the same name. He was featured in the Encores! staged concert version of On the Town as Ozzie in November 2008. He appeared in a workshop production of a new play titled Peter and the Starcatcher in 2009. He played Bert in the Broadway production of Mary Poppins, replacing Adam Fiorentino in the role on October 12, 2009 and then left the cast July 15, 2010. In 2010, he appeared in the film The Bounty Hunter, in which he played a golf caddy. In Fall 2010/Winter 2011, Borle played the role of Prior Walter in Signature Theatre Company's 20th anniversary production of Tony Kushner's Angels in America. On February 25, 2011, it was announced that Borle had joined Steven Spielberg's new NBC pil… | Borle started dating actress Sutton Foster in college, and married her on September 18, 2006. During a radio interview in 2010, it was confirmed that they had gone their separate ways. In 2012, Foster said that she and Borle remained friends and continue to support each other's work. | Borle made his Broadway debut in 1998, understudying the role of Willard J. Hewitt in the stage adaptation of the film Footloose. He was featured in the 2000 revival of Jesus Christ Superstar, and was the dance captain and understudy for several characters for the short-lived 2002 musical Amour. Borle appeared in a 2003 advertisement for California-based online auction company eBay. In the 30-second TV spot, Borle plays a store clerk who breaks into song and dance when asked about a product. The song, "That's on eBay" was a parody of the standard "That's Amore". Also in 2003, he replaced Gavin Creel in the role of Jimmy in Thoroughly Modern Millie. He married his co-star, actress Sutton Foster, who had played Millie, in September 2006. On a radio interview in 2010 it was confirmed that Borle and Foster had separated. Borle performed in Monty Python's Spamalot, in which he originated a number of roles, including Prince Herbert and the Historian. His performance earned him a 2005 Drama Desk Award nomination as Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical and a Broadway.com Audience Award as Favorite Featured Actor in a Musical. He is known on Broadway for originating the role of Emmett Forrest in Legally Blonde, for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. The musical is based on MGM's 2001 film of the same name. He was featured in the Encores! staged concert version of On the Town as Ozzie in November 2008. He appeared in a workshop production of a new play titled Peter and the Starcatcher in 2009. He played Bert in the Broadway production of Mary Poppins, replacing Adam Fiorentino in the role on October 12, 2009 and then left the cast July 15, 2010. In 2010, he appeared in the film The Bounty Hunter, in which he played a golf caddy. In Fall 2010/Winter 2011, Borle played the role of Prior Walter in Signature Theatre Company's 20th anniversary production of Tony Kushner's Angels in America. On February 25, 2011, it was announced that Borle had joined Steven Spielberg's new NBC pil… | dancers |
| 95 | 95 | Alex Boyé | Alex | Boyé | M | After completing his mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Boyé became a backup dancer, including for George Michael. In 1995, he formed and became the lead singer of Awesome, a European boy band. Awesome performed at local dances and other small venues until 1996 when they won a vocal competition on Capital Radio, London's largest radio station. Subsequently, Universal Records of Europe signed Awesome to a five-album recording contract. Awesome released three singles off their first album, Rumors, which made top-10 charts all across Europe. The band sold 500,000 albums and performed alongside artists that included Bryan Adams, George Michael, Simon and Garfunkel, MC Hammer, and many others. But Boyé disliked the lifestyle of a touring musician. "I had this dream of being a musician, but it was taking me down a road that led somewhere I didn't want to go," he said. Boyé decided to leave the band in 1999 to pursue a solo career. He lost all of the material possessions he had gained as a member of Awesome when the record company took the apartment, the clothes, the phone and the money. In 1999, Boyé joined two other artists in London to discuss recording a demo tape of church hymns with a pop/R&B spin. One of the artists sat at the piano and hit upon a jazz sound for the hymn "Count Your Many Blessings" which became the signature song for the group. That evening they began to improvise church hymns and eventually created ‘Soul Saints’. Within a couple of weeks, the group had started recording the songs and gave performances at Hyde Park, London before going on to tour in Utah. Wayne Scholes was the group's manager and Excel Records acted as a consultant while Soul Saints were in the United States. In 2000, Boyé moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, to pursue a career in Mormon music. He released his first religious album The Love Goes On in 2001. When the lead actor portraying Frederick Douglass in the Rodgers Memorial Theatre's production of Frank Wildhorn's Civil War dropped out three weeks befo… | Boyé met his wife, Julie, in an LDS singles ward and they were married in the Salt Lake Temple on 6 January 2007. As of September 2019, they are the parents of seven children with another one due in January 2021. A video showing Boyé is part of the "I'm A Mormon" campaign launched by the LDS Church in Britain in the spring of 2013. In 2009, Boyé began raising money to buy a house for a local refugee family with sales of his single, "Crazy for You." On 22 February 2012, Boyé became a United States citizen in a ceremony at the Rose Wagner Theater in Salt Lake City. He was surprised when he was invited by the judge conducting the ceremony to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner". | After completing his mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Boyé became a backup dancer, including for George Michael. In 1995, he formed and became the lead singer of Awesome, a European boy band. Awesome performed at local dances and other small venues until 1996 when they won a vocal competition on Capital Radio, London's largest radio station. Subsequently, Universal Records of Europe signed Awesome to a five-album recording contract. Awesome released three singles off their first album, Rumors, which made top-10 charts all across Europe. The band sold 500,000 albums and performed alongside artists that included Bryan Adams, George Michael, Simon and Garfunkel, MC Hammer, and many others. But Boyé disliked the lifestyle of a touring musician. "I had this dream of being a musician, but it was taking me down a road that led somewhere I didn't want to go," he said. Boyé decided to leave the band in 1999 to pursue a solo career. He lost all of the material possessions he had gained as a member of Awesome when the record company took the apartment, the clothes, the phone and the money. In 1999, Boyé joined two other artists in London to discuss recording a demo tape of church hymns with a pop/R&B spin. One of the artists sat at the piano and hit upon a jazz sound for the hymn "Count Your Many Blessings" which became the signature song for the group. That evening they began to improvise church hymns and eventually created ‘Soul Saints’. Within a couple of weeks, the group had started recording the songs and gave performances at Hyde Park, London before going on to tour in Utah. Wayne Scholes was the group's manager and Excel Records acted as a consultant while Soul Saints were in the United States. In 2000, Boyé moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, to pursue a career in Mormon music. He released his first religious album The Love Goes On in 2001. When the lead actor portraying Frederick Douglass in the Rodgers Memorial Theatre's production of Frank Wildhorn's Civil War dropped out three weeks befo… | dancers |
| 96 | 96 | John Brascia | John | Brascia | M | Brascia was a featured dancer with Vera-Ellen in White Christmas (1954) and with Cyd Charisse and Liliane Montevecchi in Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956). With dancer and wife, Tybee Arfa (1932–1982), he formed the dance team Brascia and Tybee, which, beginning in 1957, began appearing as the opening act for artists like Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne, Tony Martin and George Burns, among others. Married in 1958, the duo appeared frequently on television's The Ed Sullivan Show (1958–66) and on The Hollywood Palace (1967). Brascia began acting in non-dancing film roles beginning in 1967, culminating in The Baltimore Bullet (1980), which he produced and was credited with the film's story and screenplay. Brascia made his Broadway debut on February 11, 1953 in the musical version of the film "Nothing Sacred," titled Hazel Flagg, which featured a score by Jule Styne and Bob Hilliard. The production was supervised and choreographed by Robert Alton (who choreographed the film White Christmas, featuring Brascia, a year later). Brascia won a Donaldson Award for his performance in the musical. John Brascia was a featured dancer in The Magic Carpet Revue, New York - Paris - Paradise, which opened at the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas on May 23, 1955 and starred Vera-Ellen with a cast of 60. | Brascia was married 3 times. He married his dance partner, Tybee Arfa, in 1958. His second marriage was to actress and model Sondra Scott, with whom he had a daughter. That marriage also ended in divorce. He married actress and model Jordan Michaels in 1986. The couple had a daughter. | Brascia was a featured dancer with Vera-Ellen in White Christmas (1954) and with Cyd Charisse and Liliane Montevecchi in Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956). With dancer and wife, Tybee Arfa (1932–1982), he formed the dance team Brascia and Tybee, which, beginning in 1957, began appearing as the opening act for artists like Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne, Tony Martin and George Burns, among others. Married in 1958, the duo appeared frequently on television's The Ed Sullivan Show (1958–66) and on The Hollywood Palace (1967). Brascia began acting in non-dancing film roles beginning in 1967, culminating in The Baltimore Bullet (1980), which he produced and was credited with the film's story and screenplay. Brascia made his Broadway debut on February 11, 1953 in the musical version of the film "Nothing Sacred," titled Hazel Flagg, which featured a score by Jule Styne and Bob Hilliard. The production was supervised and choreographed by Robert Alton (who choreographed the film White Christmas, featuring Brascia, a year later). Brascia won a Donaldson Award for his performance in the musical. John Brascia was a featured dancer in The Magic Carpet Revue, New York - Paris - Paradise, which opened at the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas on May 23, 1955 and starred Vera-Ellen with a cast of 60.Brascia was married 3 times. He married his dance partner, Tybee Arfa, in 1958. His second marriage was to actress and model Sondra Scott, with whom he had a daughter. That marriage also ended in divorce. He married actress and model Jordan Michaels in 1986. The couple had a daughter. | dancers |
| 97 | 97 | Dana Tai Soon Burgess | Dana | Burgess | M | In 1992, Burgess established the Moving Forward: Contemporary Asian American Dance Company. This was renamed in 2005 to Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Co. (DTSB&Co.) and again in 2013 to Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company (DTSBDC). It is the preeminent contemporary dance company in the Washington, D.C. area. Stacy Taus-Bolstad mentioned Burgess and some of his career highlights in her 2005 book Koreans in America alongside comedian Margaret Cho under "Famous Korean Americans". In 2006 he retired from dancing due to a bad back. But in 2008 he returned to the stage as a stand-in for one of his dancers, which resulted in a Washington Post review by critic Sarah Kaufman called "Retired Burgess Hasn't Lost A Step" that said "Burgess has emerged as the area's leading dance artist, consistently following his own path and producing distinctive, well-considered works." The performance included the premiere of Hyphen, a surrealist dance work featuring video images by Nam June Paik from the 1960s. In May, 2014 he was quoted in Smithsonian magazine as saying his artistic focus had shifted to exploring the idea of cultural "confluence". Burgess has retired from dancing due to a back injury, but is still teaching, researching and choreographing extensively. In May 2016 Burgess was named the Smithsonian's first-ever choreographer in residence at the National Portrait Gallery. Burgess's dance works have been performed in numerous venues, including the Kennedy Center, La Mama, the United Nations headquarters, Dance Place, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Asia Society, and the Lincoln Center Out of Doors. He spoke and presented his dance Dariush at the White House at the invitation of President Barack Obama in May 2013 as part of National Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Burgess's choreography has also been commissioned by Ballet Memphis and the Kennedy Center. His work "The Nightingale" toured to over 70 American cities. Burgess' work has focused on the immigrant experience and cultural divides, which has resulted in several … | In 2011, "The Reliable Source" reported that Burgess became engaged to artist Jameson Freeman while touring the temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The couple married in Santa Fe, New Mexico in September 2015. They live in Washington, D.C. | In 1992, Burgess established the Moving Forward: Contemporary Asian American Dance Company. This was renamed in 2005 to Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Co. (DTSB&Co.) and again in 2013 to Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company (DTSBDC). It is the preeminent contemporary dance company in the Washington, D.C. area. Stacy Taus-Bolstad mentioned Burgess and some of his career highlights in her 2005 book Koreans in America alongside comedian Margaret Cho under "Famous Korean Americans". In 2006 he retired from dancing due to a bad back. But in 2008 he returned to the stage as a stand-in for one of his dancers, which resulted in a Washington Post review by critic Sarah Kaufman called "Retired Burgess Hasn't Lost A Step" that said "Burgess has emerged as the area's leading dance artist, consistently following his own path and producing distinctive, well-considered works." The performance included the premiere of Hyphen, a surrealist dance work featuring video images by Nam June Paik from the 1960s. In May, 2014 he was quoted in Smithsonian magazine as saying his artistic focus had shifted to exploring the idea of cultural "confluence". Burgess has retired from dancing due to a back injury, but is still teaching, researching and choreographing extensively. In May 2016 Burgess was named the Smithsonian's first-ever choreographer in residence at the National Portrait Gallery. Burgess's dance works have been performed in numerous venues, including the Kennedy Center, La Mama, the United Nations headquarters, Dance Place, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Asia Society, and the Lincoln Center Out of Doors. He spoke and presented his dance Dariush at the White House at the invitation of President Barack Obama in May 2013 as part of National Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Burgess's choreography has also been commissioned by Ballet Memphis and the Kennedy Center. His work "The Nightingale" toured to over 70 American cities. Burgess' work has focused on the immigrant experience and cultural divides, which has resulted in several … | dancers |
| 98 | 98 | Kida Burns | Kida | Burns | M | At age 11, Burns began training at Chapkis Dance Studio in Suisun City, California under So You Think You Can Dance Season 1 contestant Greg Chapkis. In 2010, Burns posted a video online showing him dancing with the crew "The Art of Teknique"; it was reposted by rappers Ludacris and Tyrese. The video landed Burns and his crew on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. In 2015, Burns performed solo on The Queen Latifah Show and The Rachel Ray Show, which caught the attention of So You Think You Can Dance producers. In 2016, Burns claimed the grand prize of $250,000 when he was voted America's Favorite Dancer on the thirteenth season of So You Think You Can Dance: Next Generation'.'He also appeared in Chris Brown's music video for party with fellow hip hop dancers Ayo & Teo. He performed with singer Usher at the 2016 BET Awards. In 2012, Burns appeared in the movie Battlefield America as Thomas Brown. In 2020, Burns choreographed and appeared in the music video for Justin Bieber's song "Come Around Me".He also made a cameo appearance in Disney's movie zombies 2 | Burns was born on April 8, 2002 in Sacramento, California. He is the son of Tanisha Hunter and Leon Burns, Sr. He is the sixth child of his mother's seven children. Burns' first teacher was his oldest brother, Shaheem Sanchez Burns, who started mentoring him when he was 4. He was also inspired by the dance films Breakin' and the Step Up series, which he watched with his father. In 2014, Burns' father died from complications of H1N1. | Burns was born on April 8, 2002 in Sacramento, California. He is the son of Tanisha Hunter and Leon Burns, Sr. He is the sixth child of his mother's seven children. Burns' first teacher was his oldest brother, Shaheem Sanchez Burns, who started mentoring him when he was 4. He was also inspired by the dance films Breakin' and the Step Up series, which he watched with his father. In 2014, Burns' father died from complications of H1N1.At age 11, Burns began training at Chapkis Dance Studio in Suisun City, California under So You Think You Can Dance Season 1 contestant Greg Chapkis. In 2010, Burns posted a video online showing him dancing with the crew "The Art of Teknique"; it was reposted by rappers Ludacris and Tyrese. The video landed Burns and his crew on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. In 2015, Burns performed solo on The Queen Latifah Show and The Rachel Ray Show, which caught the attention of So You Think You Can Dance producers. In 2016, Burns claimed the grand prize of $250,000 when he was voted America's Favorite Dancer on the thirteenth season of So You Think You Can Dance: Next Generation'.'He also appeared in Chris Brown's music video for party with fellow hip hop dancers Ayo & Teo. He performed with singer Usher at the 2016 BET Awards. In 2012, Burns appeared in the movie Battlefield America as Thomas Brown. In 2020, Burns choreographed and appeared in the music video for Justin Bieber's song "Come Around Me".He also made a cameo appearance in Disney's movie zombies 2 | dancers |
| 99 | 99 | David Burtka | David | Burtka | M | Burtka made his television debut in 2002 with a guest role on The West Wing. This was followed by guest appearances on Crossing Jordan. Burtka made his Broadway debut as Tulsa in the 2003 revival of Gypsy, which starred Bernadette Peters. He played The Boy in the American premiere of Edward Albee's The Play About the Baby, for which he won the 2001 Clarence Derwent Award for most promising male performer. In 2004, Burtka originated the role of Matt in the musical The Opposite of Sex and reprised the role in the work's East Coast premiere in the summer of 2006. Burtka appeared in seven episodes of How I Met Your Mother; in all seven such installments, he played "Scooter," the former high school boyfriend of Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan), who still had not gotten over their breakup. Burtka made a cameo appearance, in A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, as himself; in it, he also shared a scene with Neil Patrick Harris, in a part that was much like his character from How I Met Your Mother. Burtka starred in Osiris Entertainment's 2013 film Annie and the Gypsy, and had a featured role in the 2014 film Dance Off. Burtka returned to Broadway in a comedy play, which David Hyde Pierce directed, titled It Shoulda Been You. In the play, staged in late April 2015, he assumed the role of a Catholic fiancé of a Jewish bride, who was played by Sierra Boggess, whose wedding day is disrupted when her ex-boyfriend shows up at the wedding. Additional cast members included Tyne Daly and Harriet Harris. | Six months after Burtka's first How I Met Your Mother appearance, allegations arose that the actor had received the part because of a romantic relationship with one of the show's stars, actor Neil Patrick Harris. Speculation around this story eventually led Harris to acknowledge publicly that he himself was gay in a cover story in People Weekly Magazine. Burtka made no public response to the story, though later Harris stated that he and Burtka were moving in together. Burtka and Harris attended the Emmy Awards in September 2007 as an openly acknowledged couple for the first time, an appearance which Harris discussed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Burtka's mother died of cancer in May 2008. On February 4, 2009, Burtka and Harris appeared for the first time on stage together, singing a duet from Rent at a benefit for The LGBT Community Center in New York. The two actors had been together since April 2004. Harris customarily referred to Burtka as "my better half" and "an amazing chef." Burtka and Harris became parents to fraternal twins Gideon Scott and Harper Grace, who were born in October 2010, via a surrogate mother.Burtka, although not the biological father of his ex Lane Janger's children, who had also been born via surrogate, has remained close to them over the years. Following the passage of the Marriage Equality Act in New York on June 24, 2011, Burtka and Harris announced their engagement, stating that they had proposed to each other five years earlier but had kept the engagement secret until same-sex marriage became legal in their state. According to Harris, Burtka quit acting full-time to become a professional chef. He graduated from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Pasadena in the summer of 2009; afterwards, he began running a Los Angeles catering company which he called "Gourmet M.D." Burtka did continue to act, including in It Shoulda Been You on Broadway in 2015. Burtka's first cookbook, Life is a Party, a collection of recipes and tips on entertaining, was published in April 2019. | Burtka made his television debut in 2002 with a guest role on The West Wing. This was followed by guest appearances on Crossing Jordan. Burtka made his Broadway debut as Tulsa in the 2003 revival of Gypsy, which starred Bernadette Peters. He played The Boy in the American premiere of Edward Albee's The Play About the Baby, for which he won the 2001 Clarence Derwent Award for most promising male performer. In 2004, Burtka originated the role of Matt in the musical The Opposite of Sex and reprised the role in the work's East Coast premiere in the summer of 2006. Burtka appeared in seven episodes of How I Met Your Mother; in all seven such installments, he played "Scooter," the former high school boyfriend of Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan), who still had not gotten over their breakup. Burtka made a cameo appearance, in A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, as himself; in it, he also shared a scene with Neil Patrick Harris, in a part that was much like his character from How I Met Your Mother. Burtka starred in Osiris Entertainment's 2013 film Annie and the Gypsy, and had a featured role in the 2014 film Dance Off. Burtka returned to Broadway in a comedy play, which David Hyde Pierce directed, titled It Shoulda Been You. In the play, staged in late April 2015, he assumed the role of a Catholic fiancé of a Jewish bride, who was played by Sierra Boggess, whose wedding day is disrupted when her ex-boyfriend shows up at the wedding. Additional cast members included Tyne Daly and Harriet Harris.Six months after Burtka's first How I Met Your Mother appearance, allegations arose that the actor had received the part because of a romantic relationship with one of the show's stars, actor Neil Patrick Harris. Speculation around this story eventually led Harris to acknowledge publicly that he himself was gay in a cover story in People Weekly Magazine. Burtka made no public response to the story, though later Harris stated that he and Burtka were moving in together. Burtka and Harris attended the Emmy Awards in September 2007 as a… | dancers |
| 100 | 100 | Dick Button | Dick | Button | M | In his first competition, the 1943 Eastern States Novice Championship, Button finished second to Jean-Pierre Brunet. In 1944, he won the Eastern States junior title which earned him the opportunity to compete at the National Novice Championships. He won the event. In 1945, his third year of serious skating, he won the Eastern States senior title and the national junior title. He was also skating pairs, and competed with Barbara Jones in junior pairs at the 1946 Eastern States Championships. They performed Button's singles program side-by-side with minor modifications and won. This competition, where Button also competed as a single skater, led into the 1946 U.S. Championships. At age 16, Button won the 1946 U.S. Championships by a unanimous vote. According to Button, this was the first time anyone had won the men's novice, junior, and senior titles in three consecutive years. This win earned Button a spot at the 1947 World Championships. At the 1947 World Championships, Button was second behind rival Hans Gerschwiler following the compulsory figures part of the competition, with 34.9 points separating them. He won the free skating portion, but Gerschwiler had the majority of first places from the judges, three to Button's two. Button won the silver medal at his first World Championships. It was the last time he placed lower than first in competition. At the competition, Button was befriended by Ulrich Salchow. Salchow, who was disappointed when Button did not win, presented him with the first International Cup Salchow had won in 1901. Button later passed on this trophy to John Misha Petkevich following the 1972 Olympics and World Championships. Acknowledging that Gerschwiler had a better understanding of outdoor ice, Button decided to spend some time training outdoors on the Lake Placid club tennis courts. Button faced Gerschwiler again at the 1948 European Championships. Button led after figures in points, having 749 points to Gerschwiler's 747.8, but Gerschwiler led in placings, with 14 to Button's 15. During t… | Button was a guest on the television show I've Got A Secret as one of five former Olympic champions which aired October 13, 1954. In 1975, Button married figure skating coach Slavka Kohout; the couple later divorced. Button lives in North Salem, New York as of 2013. He was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1976, the same year it was founded. Button suffered a serious head injury on July 5, 1978, when he was one of several men assaulted in Central Park by a gang of youths armed with baseball bats. Three persons were subsequently convicted of assault for the attacks. News accounts and trial testimony indicated the assailants were intending to target gay people, but the victims were attacked at random, and that because of the random nature of the attacks "... the police said there was no reason to believe the victims were homosexual." On December 31, 2000, Button was skating at a public rink in New York State when he fell, fracturing his skull and causing a serious brain injury. He recovered and became a national spokesman for the Brain Injury Association of America as well as continuing his Emmy Award–winning commentary on broadcasts of the Olympic Games and on various figure-skating television shows. | In his first competition, the 1943 Eastern States Novice Championship, Button finished second to Jean-Pierre Brunet. In 1944, he won the Eastern States junior title which earned him the opportunity to compete at the National Novice Championships. He won the event. In 1945, his third year of serious skating, he won the Eastern States senior title and the national junior title. He was also skating pairs, and competed with Barbara Jones in junior pairs at the 1946 Eastern States Championships. They performed Button's singles program side-by-side with minor modifications and won. This competition, where Button also competed as a single skater, led into the 1946 U.S. Championships. At age 16, Button won the 1946 U.S. Championships by a unanimous vote. According to Button, this was the first time anyone had won the men's novice, junior, and senior titles in three consecutive years. This win earned Button a spot at the 1947 World Championships. At the 1947 World Championships, Button was second behind rival Hans Gerschwiler following the compulsory figures part of the competition, with 34.9 points separating them. He won the free skating portion, but Gerschwiler had the majority of first places from the judges, three to Button's two. Button won the silver medal at his first World Championships. It was the last time he placed lower than first in competition. At the competition, Button was befriended by Ulrich Salchow. Salchow, who was disappointed when Button did not win, presented him with the first International Cup Salchow had won in 1901. Button later passed on this trophy to John Misha Petkevich following the 1972 Olympics and World Championships. Acknowledging that Gerschwiler had a better understanding of outdoor ice, Button decided to spend some time training outdoors on the Lake Placid club tennis courts. Button faced Gerschwiler again at the 1948 European Championships. Button led after figures in points, having 749 points to Gerschwiler's 747.8, but Gerschwiler led in placings, with 14 to Button's 15. During t… | dancers |
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CREATE TABLE 'processed_career_life_2_para_df_m' (name TEXT, "first_name" TEXT, "last_name" TEXT, gender TEXT, "career_sec" TEXT, "personal_sec" TEXT, info TEXT, occupation TEXT);