Cat Cora...First and Only Female Iron Chef,Author,Restaurateur,Activist,Humanitarian

Catherine Ann "Cat" Cora was born on April 3, 1967 in Jackson, Mississippi, the daughter of Virginia Lee (née Brothers) and Spiro Pete Cora. Her father was of Greek descent (her paternal grandparents were from Skopelos, Greece). Her grandfather and father were both restaurateurs. When she was 15 years old,she brought a business plan to her father and grandfather,knowing they could help her. Cora's style of cooking was influenced by Julia Child,Barbara Tropp,M.F.K. Fisher and her grandmother, Alma.  In 2005, she made television history on Food Network's "Iron Chef America" as the first and only female Iron Chef, and in November 2006 Bon Appetit Magazine bestowed her with their Teacher of the Year Award, an award she calls, "the greatest recognition she could achieve as a chef." That month, she was also honored with another great culinary distinction when she was named Executive Chef of the magazine. With restaurants at Macy's South Coast Plaza, San Francisco and Houston's airports and another at Walt Disney World, Cat's bringing a taste of her culinary influence to both coasts.

Following advice from her famous mentor Julia Child, Cat left her native Mississippi for New York, where she received the education of her dreams at The Culinary Institute of America. While in New York, she apprenticed with and then worked for Chef Anne Rozenweig at Arcadia and worked at the Beekman Tavern under Chef Larry Forgione of An American Place.

Cat’s culinary education continued in Europe completing apprenticeships with two of France's three-star Michelin chefs, George Blanc of Vonnas and Roger Verge. After returning to New York again, Cat honed her skills as a Sous Chef at The Old Chatham Shepherding Company under Chef Melissa Kelly. She soon headed West to plant her roots in Northern California, where she served as Chef de Cuisine at Napa Valley's Bistro Don Giovanni.

Cat made her TV debut in 1999, as co-host of Food Network’s Melting Pot with Rocco Di Spirito. She went on to host My Country My Kitchen: Greece, Date Plate, and was one of the featured hosts on Fine Living’s Simplify Your Life. A documentary, Cat’s In The Kitchen, was also made about her first James Beard dinner in April, 2002.

Preceding Iron Chef America, Cat co-hosted Kitchen Accomplished on Food Network, where she worked with a design expert and contractor to surprise a homeowner with a 3-day kitchen makeover. In 2006, Cat appeared in NBC’s Primetime Miniseries, Celebrity Cooking Showdown, where celebrities were paired with famous chefs and competed in a timed cook-off à la Iron Chef America.

In May 2012, Cora stepped out of her chef’s jacket into a new role as co-host alongside Curtis Stone for Bravo’s new series, Around the World in 80 Plates. The two hosts traveled with 12 chefs competing in a culinary race across 10 countries in 44 days.

Cat’s upbringing in Jackson, Mississippi’s intimate Greek community had an incalculable influence on her career. Raised by a family for whom cooking and eating were the center of life, meals at the Cora house often combined spices from the South with fresh cheeses and home-cured olives sent by relatives from the island of Skopelos. Her first cookbook, Cat Cora’s Kitchen was inspired by her Greek and Southern heritage and contains many of her family’s favorite recipes.

In her second book, Cooking From The Hip: Fast, Easy, Phenomenal Meals, Cat elevates at home cooking to new levels, applying her “go-with-what-you’ve got” philosophy to creating simple, yet sensational meals. Cat’s third cookbook, Classics With a Twist: Fresh Takes on Favorite Dishes (Houghton Mifflin, June 2010) showcases her signature fast and healthy approach to family-friendly recipes from around the world.

Cat resides in the Santa Barbara area with her wife and biggest fans, her four sons.

Outside the kitchen, Cat is known for her philanthropy. She is President and Founder of Chefs for Humanity, an organization that originated in response to the 2004 Tsunami disaster. Modeled after Doctors Without Borders, the not-for-profit gathers the culinary community together to raise funds and provide resources for important emergency, educational and hunger-related causes. Recognizing Cat’s altruistic determination in the food world, UNICEF named her a nutritional spokesperson to help raise awareness for humanitarian crises around the world.

In June 2010, Cat joined First Lady Michelle Obama as part of her Chefs Move To Schools campaign in an effort to provide nutritional guidance and education from professional chefs to schools nationwide. Cat is presently working on adopting an elementary school near her home in Santa Barbara, CA.

Cat traveled to Ethiopia in February 2012 with Save the Children to help shed light on the side of the global child hunger crisis that doesn’t make headlines. The trip included visits to Save the Children programs in the region that promote solutions to the chronic malnutrition crisis.

To date, Cora has successfully launched several unique restaurant concepts. In 2008, she partnered with Macy’s to open Cat Cora’s Que (CCQ), a casual barbeque restaurant featuring her favorite takes on global BBQ located in South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California. In 2009, Cora collaborated with Disney to launch Kouzzina by Cat Cora at Disney’s Board Walk Resort in Orlando, Florida. Kouzzina’s menu is a tribute to Cora’s heritage and features her time-honored Mediterranean family recipes and personal Greek favorites.

In 2011, Cora unveiled Cat Cora’s Kitchen, a sophisticated dining option for airport travelers, in Virgin’s Terminal 2 at the San Francisco International Airport. She opened another location at the George Bush International Airport in January 2012, and will be launching additional locations. In conjunction with Cat Cora’s Kitchen at the Salt Lake City International Airport, Cora opened Cat Cora’s Gourmet Market in March 2012, which offers travelers healthy and organic takeaway options.

In September 2010, Cat and Disney Online launched Muppets Kitchen, a series of webisodes featuring Cat and co-hosted by a spicy Italian Muppet named Angelo. With the help of Muppet friends, Cat and Angelo are helping families rediscover time together through the joy of cooking. Launched in conjunction with Muppets Kitchen is HastyTasty Cooking Tips With Cat Cora and the Muppets. These instructional webisodes provide moms with advice on how to get their kids excited about cooking as well as step-by-step instructions for preparing nutritious meals the whole family will love.

In 2011, Cora launched her first line of cookware with Starfrit, Canada’s leading purveyor of kitchen preparation products. The Cat Cora by Starfrit line emphasizes clever, eco-friendly cookware and kitchen essentials to make mealtimes easy for the at-home cook. Her Starfrit product line includes; The Cook N’ Serve Casseroles, Acacia Utensils, Cutlery and Silicone Tools. That same year, she joined forces with Gaea, the leader in Greek specialty food products to debut Cat Cora’s Kitchen, her own line of olives, olive oils, tapenades and cooking sauces. In addition, Cora has her own collection of wines under the Coranation label.

In 2012, Cora released her new iPad app entitled “Cat Cora’s Kitchen.” Cat’s app is a robust and powerful tool that enables home cooks of every skill level to plan, prepare and serve individual dishes or complete menus from her repertoire with absolute confidence. Video tutorials, a sophisticated easy-to-use scheduling feature, and an intuitive and user-friendly interface ensure that the home cook has everything necessary to succeed in the kitchen and bring a single dish or a multi-course meal to the table on time and cooked to perfection.

She has worked as an entertainer for The Olivia Companies, a travel company catering to the lesbian market.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Cora

http://www.catcora.com/about

Sunny Anderson...Food Network Personality,Author,Air Force Veteran

Sunny Anderson was born born April 9, 1975 in New Orleans, Louisiana and grew up as an Army brat, which allowed her to travel the world (living in Germany and other places) and sample many local cuisines with her parents, who were food enthusiasts. She attended Madison High School in San Antonio, Texas and upon her graduation she joined the United States Air Force in June 1993, where she earned the rank of Senior Airman and worked as a military radio host in Seoul, South Korea, then worked for Air Force News Agency radio and television in San Antonio from 1993 to 1997. She was honorably discharged from the Air Force in June 1997.

 While growing up traveling the world as an Army brat, Sunny's parents always encouraged her to indulge in the local cuisine. When she joined the Air Force as a radio broadcaster and journalist, she continued her trek through the world for news stories while indulging in culinary finds along the way. Upon leaving the Air Force an award-winning broadcaster, she continued her travels as a radio DJ in many cities, culminating in her dream job in New York at a #1 rated radio station. There, as a hobby she began cooking for her friends in the entertainment business and turned her growing client list into a catering company. That led to a guest appearance on Food Network’s Emeril Live! in 2005 and shortly after, she left her radio career and closed her catering business to focus on chasing yet another dream, sharing her recipes with the Food Network audience. Things worked out in 2007 with her first show, Gotta Get It, a food gadget show, quickly followed by Cooking for Real, How'd That Get On My Plate and other Food Network show appearances. Her cooking style combines classic comfort foods along with unique flavors inspired by her many travels.  With an understanding of everyday life and the belief that real people deserve down-to-earth, delicious meals, Sunny offers real food for real life. Sunny is currently working on a new Food Network show The Kitchen and just released her New York Times Best Selling debut cook book, "Sunny's Kitchen", on Clarkson/Potter.

Sunny lives in Sunset Park, Brooklyn with her 4 rescue cats, Cheddar Cheese, Truffle Tycoon, Milky Mouth and Sea Salt.

http://www.sunnyanderson.com/meet-sunny#sthash.jaNYouWL.dpuf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunny_Anderson

G. Garvin...Celebrity Chef,Author,Entrepreneur,James Beard Award Nominee,Philanthropist

Being raised by a single mother and surrounded by four sisters, the determined 13-year-old Garvin traded after-school football practice for a job at The Old Vinings Inn in Atlanta, soaping dishes while soaking up the inner workings of a high-end kitchen operation. Two years later, he became the youngest cook at the downtown Ritz-Carlton, where he worked after school and during the summer.

Garvin moved to the West Coast in 1988 to open the Ritz-Carlton’s Rancho Mirage resort in Palm Springs. Soon after, at the age of 20, he moved to Europe to further his culinary training and serve as an apprentice to Jean Pierre Maharebacha. There, he gained a wide range of on-the-job experience taking kitchen positions in Hamburg and Warsaw, documenting everything he learned. After nearly two years, he returned to Atlanta to become sous chef of the award-winning Italian restaurant Veni, Vidi, Vici. However, the lure of the West Coast drew him back, this time to Los Angeles.

Acclaimed Chef, Cookbook Author, Television Host, James Beard Nominee, and Philanthropist, all words that describe Chef Gerry Garvin, simply known as G. Garvin. Chef Garvin started his culinary career in his hometown, Atlanta, Georgia at the Ritz Carlton-Downtown, as the youngest line cook in the gourmet dining room. He was chosen to move to Palm Springs, California to open the Ritz Carlton-Rancho Mirage, where he worked under Chef Jean Pierre Dubray. With a promising career ahead, he relocated to Los Angeles, California, took on a position as the dining room Sous Chef at Noa Noa. After spending 3 years there, Chef Garvin then headed to the Four Seasons, Beverly Hills. He went on to become the Executive Chef of Morton’s and Kass Bah.

After spending some time in Los Angeles, Garvin returned to Atlanta to work with the Buckhead Life Group at Veni Vidi Vici and Pricci. He later returned to Los Angeles and partnered with Keyshawn Johnson to open Reign Restaurant. After Reign was off to a great start, Chef Garvin opened his signature restaurant, G Garvin’s, where he continued to cater to and host High Profile dinners for such clients as Former President Bill Clinton to Halle Berry to the Former Prime Minister of Israel.

Chef Garvin continued to make a name for himself, as he is in the homes of millions for 7 seasons on the TV One network with, Turn Up the Heat with G. Garvin (airing in the US and Brazil). His increasing popularity earned this talented artist a second series on the same network entitled G. Garvin: The Road Tour. Eventually, Food Networks’ Cooking Channel tapped him to host the series, Road Trip with G Garvin. This show is currently in its second season.

garvin has mastered offering a one-size-fits-all approach to cooking with sophistication and simplicity

Garvin is also a notable author. His first cookbook, "Turn Up the Heat" with G. Garvin debuted in October 2006. Its widespread success quickly prompted a second printing and won an American Literacy Award and a nomination for a NAACP Image Award. It was also chosen as a participant in the 2006 Library of Congress National Book Festival. Garvin's highly anticipated sophomore effort, Make it Super Simple with G. Garvin, a collection of recipes for super simple, healthful and delectable dishes, was released in February 2008. A third cookbook, Dining In, released in October 2008, features all new, fine-dining recipes that will provide even the most inexperienced cooks with recipes and guidance to create the most impressive gourmet meals at home. Garvin has mastered offering a one-size-fits-all approach to cooking with sophistication and simplicity, proving that even the most basic cooking palate can create flavorful of dishes.

Ever the entrepreneur, Garvin has developed his own line of spices, G. Garvin’s Spices, a line of Gourmet Nuts and G Garvin’s Wines. He also develops recipes for such clients as Kraft Foods, Tyson Foods and The Coca-Cola Company. Restaurant consulting, another aspect of his career, where he helps restaurateurs realize their vision by overseeing all aspects of new operations, polices and procedures, recipe development and the creation on menu’s placement of Executive Chef’s and General Managers.

Garvin's impressive resume and philanthropic efforts has warranted such accolades as the 2007 Man of the Year award by Women Moving Forward in Business and Third Best TV Chef by Southwest Airlines Spirit Magazine in 2006 (behind Jacques Pepin and Emeril Lagasse.) Additionally, Garvin has been a popular guest on both The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Good Morning America.

To further make an indelible mark on culinary history through his One Bite At Time Foundation Garvin has launched his culinary boot camp which is geared towards kids ages 16-19, whom will experience not only the education side of the culinary field but also experience the hospitality, restaurant front of house, management and operational skills as well as hands on cooking experience. Through this seven day sleep over camp Garvin expects to change lives and introduce kids to a new career choice, culinary arts. Through Garvin's efforts he hopes to aid in breaking down the diversity barriers within not only the cooking industry, but in society as a whole where chefs of color are often categorized more often by race than profession.

http://www.chefgarvin.com/biography

http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/chefs/g-garvin/bio.html

Aaron McCargo, Jr...Celebrity Chef,Author,Restaurateur

Aaron McCargo, Jr. (born 1971) is an American chef from Camden, New Jersey. He is best known as the winner of the fourth season of the Food Network's reality television show, The Next Food Network Star.

He has a preference for meats and bold, spicy flavors, and avoids overly complex recipes. He calls the food he cooks "soul food," but with multiple cultural influences. Big Daddy's House features members of his family as guests, and each recipe was advertised to utilize five or fewer ingredients (although they usually include more than five).

In 2010, Aaron’s cookbook entitled, Simply Done, Well Done entered bookstores nationwide offering up the delectable menu choices showcased on his series in an easy to prepare, simple way making his good cooking available in people’s kitchens everywhere.   Aaron also launched a product line of spices thereby furthering his quest to make flavorful, bold foods available to everyone.

McCargo grew up in Camden, New Jersey, and is one of six children. He became interested in cooking at age four, when he began baking cakes in his sister's Easy-Bake Oven. He began cooking in his family's kitchen at age seven. He was encouraged by his father, Aaron McCargo, Sr., who is a fine cook, and his mother, Julia, who has a preference for food with a great deal of flavor. He first studied cooking in a home economics class at Pyne Point Middle School in Camden, and began cooking as a Junior Volunteer in the kitchen of Cooper University Hospital in Camden at age 13. He took further cooking classes at Camden High School, graduating in 1989. He attended the Academy of Culinary Arts at Atlantic Cape Community College in Mays Landing, New Jersey but did not complete the program, leaving after one year to assist his mother with his brothers.

Following his graduation from high school, McCargo took a month-long cake cooking class at Wilton Cake in Audubon, New Jersey and began selling cakes and cookies throughout Camden. He has worked in nine restaurants in New Jersey (some while doing on-the-job training during his year at the Academy of Culinary Arts at Atlantic Cape Community College), including T.G.I. Friday's, Steak 38, Holmes Lounge, the Marlton Tavern, and the former Harbour League Club in Camden, and the Armadillo Steakhouse & Saloon in Edgewater Park Township, New Jersey as sous chef; he also worked at the Armadillo Steakhouse & Saloon in Barrington, New Jersey. Aaron was introduced to the Burlington County, New Jersey area when he opened Citrus in Westampton, New Jersey with Ian Russo.

He opened his own restaurant, McCargo's Creative Cuisine, in 2003. The restaurant was located across from the U.S. Federal Courthouse on Cooper Street, in Camden near Rutgers University in Camden, and closed in 2005. He has worked as an executive chef, including at the catering division of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he oversaw approximately forty jobs per day. He left his job there on June 6, 2008 due to his demanding television schedule.

In 2008, McCargo entered the fourth season of Food Network's The Next Food Network Star at the urging of his wife. He beat out 3,990 other entrants as the winner of that year's competition, the finale of which aired on July 27, 2008. He was awarded a six-episode commitment for his own cooking show on Food Network. His show, Big Daddy's House, premiered on August 3, 2008 and ranked as the number one “in the kitchen” weekend show during its initial six-episode run.Food Network renewed the show for a second and third season. Since then, he has made many public appearances, and is particularly interested in teaching young people to cook and encouraging them to follow their dreams. McCargo's own dreams are to open his own restaurant on the Camden Waterfront and to introduce a line of soups

McCargo makes frequent guest appearances of Spike TV's Bar Rescue

McCargo lives in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He has a Roman Catholic background. His wife is named Kimberly and they have three children (sons Joshua and Justin, and daughter Jordan). He has a strong Christian faith and is a member of The Living Hope Christian Center in Pennsauken Township, New Jersey. He enjoys watching boxing, as well as playing the drums and listening to music. Aaron also enjoys Bible study,playing tennis,eating Buffalo wings, watching sports, and traveling.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_McCargo,_Jr.

http://www.aaronmccargo.com/about