In Spring of 1991, English caught the culinary world’s eye when the James Beard Foundation named him their National Rising Star Chef. English followed through on that promise, as the James Beard Foundation subsequently named him Best Chef in the Northeast in 1994. Nation’s Restaurant News named English one of their “Top 50 Tastemakers” in 1999. In 2001, English was awarded Bon Appetit’s Restaurateur of the Year award and was also named one of People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People. Todd has recently been named to the James Beard Foundation’s “Who’s Who in Food and Beverage in America.”

Todd is currently the chef and owner of Olives in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Olives opened in April of 1989 as a 50-seat storefront restaurant. It has drawn national and international applause for English’s interpretive rustic Mediterranean cuisine. Olives now occupies a larger space down the street from its original location. In recent years, English has established Olives as one of the most prestigious names in the nation by opening other locations around the world: Olives New York in the W Hotel in Union Square, Olives Las Vegas at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, Olives DC in the heart of Washington, DC, Olives Aspen at the St. Regis Hotel in Aspen, Colorado, and most recently Olives Biloxi at the newly renovated Beau Rivage Resort and Casino.

English also has two Figs restaurants in the greater Boston area as well as a location at LaGuardia Airport in New York City. Figs serves traditional and eclectic pizzas and handmade pastas. Among English’s other restaurants are Tuscany at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, which serves Italian inspired foods and pays homage to his Italian roots; Bonfire, a steakhouse in Boston’s Park Plaza Hotel, which also has locations in New York’s JFK and Boston’s Logan airport, that is a celebration of ranch cooking around the world from the U.S. to Australia; and KingFish Hall, Todd’s first seafood concept, in Boston’s historic Faneuil Hall. Todd’s second seafood concept, Fish Club, at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront, opened in the spring of 2003, and in 2004 BlueZoo opened at the Walt Disney World Resort’s Dolphin Hotel. The high seas host two locations of Restaurant Todd English, on the Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2 and most recently the Queen Victoria.

Like English himself, his restaurants have received numerous accolades. The original Olives opened to immediate acclaim, as it was voted Best New Restaurant by Boston Magazine. Since then, it has been honored as Best Food and Top Table by Gourmet Magazine and is consistently named Boston’s #1 Favorite Restaurant by Zagat. Figs was given the “Hot Concept” award from Nation’s Restaurant News. KingFish Hall was named “Best of Boston” by Travel & Leisure Magazine.

Todd English began his cooking career at the young age of 15 when he first entered the doors of a professional kitchen. At 20, he attended the Culinary Institute of America and graduated in 1982 with honors. He continued to hone his craft with Jean Jacques Rachou at New York’s La Cote Basque and then relocated to Italy where he apprenticed at the well-established Dal Pescatore in Canto Sull O’lio and Paraccuchi in Locando D’Angello. It was in Italy that Todd, drawing from his Italian heritage, developed his unique style and approach to cooking. English returned to the United States at 25 and was asked to be the Executive Chef of the award-winning Northern Italian restaurant Michela’s in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He served there as an executive chef for three years, garnering high praise from both the press and the public.

Some of English’s television credits include the national public television series, Cooking Under Fire, produced by WGBH-TV in Boston, Public Television’s Cooking in With Todd English, Iron Chef USA, Martha Stewart Living, Food Network’s Opening Soon, Bobby Flay’s Food Nation, and The Main Ingredient, Good Morning America, the Tony Danza Show, Extra, CBS This Morning, Live with Regis and Kelly, The Today Show, VHI’s My Coolest Years, Discovery Channel’s Party Planners, B Smith Style, Great Chefs of the Northeast, and Fox News Channel’s Fox and Friends. In January of 2007 his 13 episode international travel and cooking series, Food Trip with Todd English, debuted on PBS, which won him his third James Beard Award.

Todd has authored the critically acclaimed cookbooks, The Olives Table, and The Figs Table and The Olives Dessert Table, published by Simon & Schuster. In 2005 his line of cookware and lifestyle products, The Todd English Collection, debuted on HSN, breaking electronic retail records in the houseware category. Also in 2005 English served as the Executive Celebrity Chef for MTV’s Video Music Awards in Miami. In 2007, English became the official chef of Delta Airlines, designing the menu for all domestic coach flights.

Todd is very involved with several local and national charities including: Big Brother, the Anthony Spinazzola Foundation, Community Servings, Share Our Strength, the Boys and Girls Clubs, and City Year.

Jasper White was born in New Jersey in 1954 where he spent much of his childhood on a farm near the Jersey Shore. He credits his love of good food to his Italian grandmother. Jasper began his cooking career in 1973, and after graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, he spent several years working and traveling around the United States. Before settling in Boston, Jasper worked in New York, Florida, California, Washington state and Montana. In 1979, he met aspiring chef Lydia Shire, and together they presided over some of Boston's venerable hotel kitchens including The Copley Plaza, The Parker House and The Bostonian Hotel. It was at the Bostonian Hotel in 1982 that Jasper and Lydia together introduced Boston to contemporary American cooking. Jasper's extensive research into the historical and cultural aspects of New England foodways, as well 35 years of cooking experience, have made him a trusted authority on New England foods, especially seafood.

In 1983 Jasper and his wife, Nancy, a graphic artist, opened Jasper's Restaurant on Boston’s historic waterfront. Both Chef and restaurant received numerous awards and were featured extensively in national and local media. In opening his own restaurant, Jasper led a whole new generation of innovative Boston chef/proprietors many of whom have gained national prominence. After 12 years of being one of Boston’s premier restaurants, however, Jasper faced the prospect of operating a fine dining restaurant in the midst of Boston’s decade-long "Big Dig", so he boldly chose to close his restaurant in 1995, and he took time to write two cookbooks, Lobster At Home (Scribner 1998) and Fifty Chowders (Scribner 2000). His first book, Jasper White's Cooking From New England, had been published in 1989. Jasper’s latest book, The Summer Shack Cookbook (W.W. Norton 2007) is his most comprehensive book on seafood. All four books are still in print and selling well.

In May 2000, Jasper White surprised people who thought he was inextricably linked to fine dining when he opened Summer Shack, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Where Jasper's Restaurant had been quietly elegant and formal, Summer Shack is a vibrant, energetic clam shack that seats more than 300 people, in five separate seating areas. Lobster tanks and steam kettles are the focal point in the center of the dining area. Lobsters, clams, oysters and many other varieties of seafood dominate a New England menu that features everything from corn dogs and fried clams to traditional favorites like cod cakes and baked beans. While the ambiance has changed, the quality has not. Jasper’s mission is to demonstrate that fine food doesn’t have to be “haute” or elegant.

Summer Shack has become a Mecca for seafood lovers. The success of the Cambridge restaurant has spawned three more Summer Shacks at Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino in Connecticut, in Boston's Back Bay and at the new Terminal A at Boston’s Logan Airport. Jasper’s winning business recipe has been to introduce high-quality, authentic New England seafood into casual restaurants in high-traffic retail locations. From its inception, the Summer Shacks have received enthusiastic reviews from local and national press, including the 2001 James Beard Award Nomination for Best New Restaurant.

COOKBOOKS:
Jasper White's Cooking From New England
Lobster At Home
Fifty Chowders
The Summer Shack Cookbook – The Complete Guide to Shore Food

Michael drew his inspiration from his mother, and first became interested in a culinary career when he was a teenager. Today Michael Luboff has more than 26 years of experience developing menus and directing culinary employees in fast-paced casino kitchens. As the Executive Chef at Mohegan Sun, he is responsible for the daily operation of 40 restaurant and foodservice venues serving a many as 35,000 meals in a day, a task that requires a thorough understanding of a variety of cuisine, strong artistic ability and effective management and organizational skills.

Prior to joining Mohegan Sun in late 1998, Luboff held several positions at large hotels in Atlantic City, New Jersey. As the Executive Sous Chef at the Atlantic City Hilton, he was responsible for constantly developing new items for 14 restaurants and back-of-the-house operations and overseeing all production areas. His career also includes nine years with Bally’s Park Place Casino Hotel, where he was on staff during the opening of the hotel and was directly involved in the development of restaurant venues.

Michael Luboff trained for more than 10 years under the guidance of several chefs, including a master chef. Though he has observed and drawn influences from several chefs, including Alice Waters and the California cooking movement, Luboff has worked diligently to find and develop his own cooking style. This decision is what Luboff believes has been instrumental in the development of his successful career and maintaining an open-minded appreciation for the art of cooking.

Authenticity, history, and tradition, are the watchwords that define Mary Ann Esposito and her cooking. Her commitment to bringing genuine Italian recipes, cooking tips, and history to the Italian-Americans in the United States has made her one of America's best-known and most loved television chefs. Broadcast nationally and internationally, Mary Ann’s PBS cooking series Ciao Italia is television’s longest-running cooking show. For 19 years Mary Ann has been as renowned for her knowledge of authentic Italian cuisine as her warm, encouraging approach to instructing her audience-of-all-ages.

Growing up in Depew, New York, Mary Ann was steeped in the artistry of Italian cooking; both nonnas, one Sicilian and one Neapolitan, were Italian natives and professional cooks, so life inside the Saporito household was decidedly Italian, no matter what was going on outside their front door in Western New York. Mary Ann’s family invested so much time and energy preparing every meal -- as it would’ve been prepared in Italy -- that in spite of the culinary expertise she absorbed as the oldest of seven kids, she had no desire to pursue a profession in a kitchen. Her first career after graduating from Daemen College was as a high school history teacher ... about as far away from baking, plucking, and frying as possible.

But life took a different turn in the 1980s when a pivotal trip to Italy made her realize that what she was learning in cooking classes abroad, she innately knew from her all-Italian, all-the-time upbringing. Mary Ann’s revelation inspired her to open a catering business in her home of Durham, NH, and to make successive trips to Italy to further study the native flavors and dishes of each of the country’s 20 regions. After earning a Master’s degree in Italian history from the University of New Hampshire — while maintaining full-time mom and wife status — she pondered the “what if’s” of hosting a cable program that would teach the cooking lessons she learned as a child that were being unearthed in her adulthood culinary awakening. The result was Ciao Italia. And after 19 years and more than 50 trips to Italy, the result still is Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito™.

Mary Ann’s television experience spans beyond PBS: she has appeared on the TODAY show, Regis and Kelly, QVC, the Food Network, RAI International (Italian television), The Victory Garden, Simply Ming, and she has appeared beside chefs Daisy Martinez, Sara Moulton, Jacques Pepin, Martin Yan, Todd English, and countless others.

And after 20 years, Mary Ann has been recognized by countless organizations for her efforts to preserve the traditions surrounding Italian food and culture, and has become the doyenne of PBS. Her honors from the U.S. Italian-American community include those from the Sons of Italy and Ladies’ Lodge of the Sons of Italy, and Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Mary Ann was awarded the Woman of the Year Award by La Festa della Donna, and she received the National Organization of Italian American Women Award. She is also a council member for the National Italian-American Foundation.

n academia, Mary Ann has studied and taught in numerous cooking schools throughout Italy. She received Johnson and Wales University’s Distinguished Author Award and she is a regular contributor to Boston University’s School of Lifelong Learning program, as well as a Board Member of Cordon Blu, Atlantic Culinary Academy, and a member of Les Dames d'Escoffier. In 2006 she was granted an honorary doctorate from St. Anselm College for her dedication to teaching and preserving authentic Italian cuisine.

In addition to producing Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito™and making nationwide appearances, Mary Ann has written nine cookbooks, with her tenth -- Ciao Italia Slow and Easy (St. Martin’s Press) -- to hit bookstores 13 November 2007. And her production company, Mary Ann Esposito, Inc., plans to produce programming with chefs who share her same dedication to authenticity, and bringing cooking at home back into vogue.

Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito™, its companion Web site www.ciaoitalia.com, and each of Mary Ann’s books, reflect her interests and experiences; they are infused with personal anecdotes, historical background, patient instruction and a great deal of charm. From a high school classroom to an international stage, she never stops teaching.

“I have focused on the pastry kitchen for most of my career, and after shifting some of my attention on the savory kitchen, now I am even more interested in breaking down some of the culinary barriers that exist between these two categories of cuisine,” said Falkner. “We utilize all of the vibrant products the Bay Area has to offer and we apply what we learn from tasting the familiar and the exotic or foreign; then we throw in a little high tech, once in a while. We strive to make great food with our own stories or signatures.”

Elizabeth began her professional cooking career in 1990 as the chef of Café Claude, moving quickly into the pastry department at Masa’s, under Chef Julian Serrano. By 1992, she became the pastry chef at Elka/Miyako Hotel and moved with Traci Des Jardins to open and head the pastry department at Rubicon, a Drew Nieporent venture, in 1993.

Recognizing the need for a contemporary, quality pastry shop in the Bay Area, Elizabeth opened Citizen Cake in San Francisco’s south of Market section in October 1997 and in May 2000, moved the successful business to its current Hayes Valley location. Citizen Cake is a retail patisserie featuring contemporary cakes, chocolates, pastries and ice creams, all made in house. In addition to its retail offerings, Citizen Cake serves brunch, lunch and dinner menus in addition to imaginative cocktails and a well-noted wine program. In 2007, Citizen Cake was awarded a recommendation from Michelin and received 7x7 Magazine’s award for best dessert.

In March 2008, Elizabeth and her life partner, Sabrina Riddle, opened a third restaurant, Orson, on Fourth and Bryant streets in San Francisco. With a large bar, a two-story wine tower and 150 seats situated in a sexy, living room atmosphere, it features edgy California cuisine ranging from wood fired pizzas and charcuterie to multiple courses and shared plates that feature her classic level of experimentation and artistry that nods to the science lab without becoming surreal. The atmosphere is as unique as her cuisine, with live sound and music as well as a “chocolate sommelier,” whose clothing is, what else? Painted in chocolate.

Elizabeth’s first cookbook, Demolition Desserts (Ten Speed Press) was released in October 2007. A true study in all of the concepts and techniques that make her work so unique, it looks at classic desserts and cultural traditions and encourages the reader to look at them with new eyes. Juxtaposed flavors and textures, contrasting temperatures and the ever-important combination of sweet and savory, are blended into harmony using her classic and newly conceived recipes.

The rise of food-related television has brought Elizabeth out of the kitchen and onto the screen. In 2006 Elizabeth appeared as a challenger on the ever-popular, Iron Chef America on Food Network. She battled Cat Cora and displayed her riffs on the secret ingredient, honey. She has also appeared as a special guest judge on Bravo’s wildly popular kitchen reality show, Top Chef. A recurring competitor on Food Network’s Challenge series, Elizabeth her work and restaurant have also been featured on Tyler’s Ultimate with Tyler Florence, Rachael Ray’s $40 a Day, Sugar Rush, The Martha Stewart Show and numerous Bay Area news and magazine programs.

A native San Franciscan, Elizabeth graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts in 1989.

Ihsan was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey surrounded by a culture famous for its bazaars full of varied flavors and fragrances. Ihsan added his own twist to this mix by becoming a star volleyball player and in 1976 he participated in the Olympics as a member of the Turkish Olympic volleyball team. In 1977, Ihsan left Istanbul to pursue a college education at UC Berkley. As a student at Berkley Ihsan played volleyball and tapped into his natural appreciation of specialty food by working at a local wine shop. In 1982, Ihsan took advantage of an offer to become head volleyball coach at Harvard University and left Berkley for Cambridge, Massachusetts. Ihsan kept his interest in food alive by working at a small specialty food store called Formaggio Kitchen. Soon after starting his work at the shop, Ihsan became manager and cheese buyer.

Following his retirement from Harvard volleyball, Ihsan was able to put all of his energy into Formaggio Kitchen. In 1992, Ihsan took over ownership of the shop and since that time he has presided over the shop’s development into one of the leading retailers of gourmet foods in the country. He has worked extensively with celebrated cheese makers and affineurs throughout the United States and Europe, including Neal’s Yard Diary of London, Pascal Jacquin of France’s Loire Valley, and Paris’ Fromagerie Barthelmy. His travels around the world have brought to Formaggio Kitchen an unparalleled selection of rare and unique cheeses and fine foods from around the world. Many have been introduced to the US for the first time and are only available from Formaggio Kitchen.

In 2006 Ihsan was inducted into the Guilde du Fromage by Roland Barthelemy.

Ihsan and Valerie opened their latest venture Formaggio Essex Market in New York’s historic Essex Street Market in the summer of 2006.

Jeff’s remarkable story of redemption and finding his hidden passion for cooking while incarcerated was chronicled in his bestselling memoir COOKED (published by William Morrow, February 2007). His life story is now being turned into a major motion picture by the team that made The Pursuit of Happyness: Will Smith and his production company Overbrook Entertainment, Escape Artists and Columbia Pictures.

As an incredibly inspiring personality, Chef Jeff has received widespread national attention on countless TV and radio programs and print publications, including “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “Good Morning America,” “The Montel Williams Show,” “CNBC The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch,” NPR’s “All Things Considered,” “The Gayle King Show,” People and USA Today.

Next up for Chef Jeff is his own reality show on The Food Network, which will begin shooting in the spring of 2008. He is also releasing his first cookbook Chef Jeff Cooks “In the Kitchen with America’s Inspirational New Culinary Star” (published by Scribner/Simon and Schuster) this fall.

Jeff Henderson lives in Las Vegas with his wife and three children.

From his inauspicious beginnings as a 16-year-old apprentice at Hong Kong’s elegant Peninsula Hotel, to his current Atlas’s stride atop the fickle universe of celebrity chef-dom, Susur Lee has never deviated from a consuming passion: to explore beyond the horizons of received culinary knowledge, and to create unique compositions for the palate that blend textures and flavors in sensuous harmony. Juxtaposing the complex food traditions of China with the classical techniques of French cuisine, Chef Lee improvises a daring and original aesthetic.

Soon after he opened his 12-table restaurant, Lotus, in a pre-gentrified strip of Toronto in 1987, Courvoisier’s Book of the Best proclaimed Lotus the finest restaurant in the country. Never content to rest on his laurel leaves, Susur shuttered Lotus after a decade of glowing reviews, and decamped to Asia for a “re-energizing” period. During the following three years he served as head chef for the exclusive Club Chinoise in Singapore and consulted to the Tung Lok Group, tweaking the menus of 17 restaurants, launching new ones and overseeing 45 chefs.

Returning to Toronto, Chef Lee drew up plans for his new and expansive gastro-dome, Susur, which opened in 2000 in Toronto’s hip downtown enclave, King Street West. The restaurant immediately earned accolades from such industry heavy-weights as Food & Wine magazine, which heralded Lee as one of the “Ten Chefs of the Millennium” in the company of Ferran Adria of Bulli and Pierre Gagnaire, and Gourmet magazine, which proclaimed him “an improvisational artist.” For eight successive years, “Susur” received the highest possible ranking from taste-maker Toronto Life, while visiting celebrities, sports stars and political personalities made repeat pilgrimages to its dining room.

In 2004, the chef opened “Lee,” a less formal, more youth-oriented kid sister to “Susur,” which Gourmet magazine praised for its inventive “sharing platter” menu and unique gastronomy. This June, Lee opened his fourth Toronto-based restaurant, Madeline’s, installing his long-time protégé, Dominic Amaral, as chef.

Lately, the undisputed master of Asian-inspired fusion has commandeered the royal kitchens of the Princess of Thailand, boldly matched TV Iron Chef Bobby Flay platter for platter to a culinary draw, and dazzled Euro-gourmands at Hanger 7 in Salzburg. He has manned the grill as “guest chef” at Charlie Trotter’s, The Four Seasons Atlanta, Ken Oringer and Ming Tsai, and participated in the “Masters of Food and Wine” festival in Carmel, Calif.

In addition to his duties in his “home” kitchens, Susur Lee makes numerous appearances on television’s Food Network and acts as a guest chef and lecturer the world over. He contributes regularly to charity and community projects, raising funds for the James Beard Foundation in Kansas City and Santa Fe, and for cancer research at the Spinazolla Foundation in Boston, Mass. He is involved with the Null Foundation, which provides scholarships for underprivileged students to attend cooking schools, and in 2006, helmed benefit dinners on behalf of humanitarian causes in Israel through the Jewish National Fund. In January 2008, Lee manned the grill at the Mohegan Sun WineFest in Uncasville, CT., to raise funds for Share Our Strength and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Susur Lee’s latest international adventure will see him don the toque as executive chef of “Shang” at the sleek boutique hotel, Thompson LES. Intent on taking Manhattan, Lee is primed with new recipes that he collected during recent travels to Singapore, Hong Kong and Taipei.

“New Yorkers have pretty much tasted it all,” says Lee. “The menu I want to present at Thompson could be described as pan-Asian—because, for example, the traditional seasonings, and the sauces, are very different in Hong Kong than in Taiwan. I’m going to do the best job I can do as I find New Yorkers appreciate that more than anything else!

Chef Oden, founder of the famed Corn Dance Cafes in Santa Fe, New Mexico, opened the first restaurants dedicated to showcasing the amazing bounty of foods indigenous to the Americas. The Corn Dance Cafe brought Loretta international acclaim for its innovative menu and contemporary interpretation of centuries-old recipes. She has been featured in the Robert Mondavi "Great Chefs Series" and has appeared on numerous television series, including Barbara Pool Fenzl's PBS series, "Savor the Southwest"; as a regular guest on the TV Food Network's "Cooking Live " and "Cooking Live-Primetime" with Sara Moulton as well as on "In Food Today". Holiday appearances on "Good Morning America", "The Today Show" and HGTV have reinforced Chef Oden's dreams of heightening awareness of her culture through it's amazingly diverse cuisines. Her talent has been the subject of numerous feature articles in such prestigious publications as The Washington Post, The New York Times, National Geographic Traveler, Sunset and Veranda. Publications dealing with health and nutrition such as Prevention, Cooking Light, and Vegetarian Times have also recognized the connection of Loretta's regional, seasonal, indigenous ingredients and traditional cooking methods with better health and well-being. Chef Oden's culinary prowess has been the subject of many "western" themed magazines such as The Santa Fean, Southwest Art, New Mexico Magazine, Living West, Cowboys & Indians and Cowboy Magazine. Native American publications such as Native Peoples Magazine, Indian Country Today and the Native American Times are recognizing the contributions she is making to Indian Country.

Loretta has created frequent presentation and fund-raising galas for the Institute of American Indian Arts, the Native American Preparatory School and the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe. In 2004, she appeared at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles, California, the Missouri Historical Society Museum St. Louis, Missouri and at First Nations Development Institute's Food Summit in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She has done a series of presentations at the Heard Museum in Phoenix. Numerous NPR radio interviews have helped spread her knowledge of traditional food and agriculture.

Chef Oden filmed a 13-week series for PBS entitled "Seasoned With Spirit, A Native Cook's Journey," featuring amazing location footage shot throughout the Americas celebrating food as a focal point to the understanding of the numerous and unique Native American cultures.

By continuing her mission of educating the public on Native America and it's contributions to the world's cuisines through a bounty of indigenous ingredients as well as it's centuries old role of taking care of our Mother Earth, Loretta Barrett Oden has found her path and the world of healthy cuisine is the richer for that.

In April 2007, Pichet opened P*ONG in the heart of New York City’s Greenwich Village. Despite his pedigree as a world-renowned pastry chef, P*ONG is a savory restaurant that showcase his critically acclaimed ability to blur the line between sweet and savory. P*ONG has featured in: Bon Appetit, Food Arts, Time Out New York, The New York Daily News, The New Yorker, New York Magazine, The New York Times, Elle, Vogue, Condé Nast Traveler, Harper’s Bazaar, and O, The Oprah Magazine.

In May 2007, Pichet released his first dessert cookbook, The Sweet Spot, which garnered a red-starred review in Publisher’s Weekly, a nomination for the World Gourmand book award, and praise from Amanda Hesser of The New York Times Magazine as “a standout and one of the most original dessert cookbooks in years.” Gourmet Magazine also chose it as one of the “13 Best Cookbooks in 2007”.

Pichet has appeared on Iron Chef America, Roker on the Road, Martha!, CBS News, and The Fresh Grocer. He consults for restaurants and a bakery commissary in Japan. Currently he is working on latest his cookbook while running Batch, a bakery right next door to P*ONG that features cookies and ice creams sold individually or by the batch.

After studying in Architecture at UC Berkeley, Pichet worked in renowned kitchens that include La Folie (San Francisco), Chez Panisse (Berkeley), Olives (Boston), Tabla and Jean -Georges (New York). Although he started out in pastry, Pichet spent eight years cooking savory food before he rediscovered his passion for dessert making. Pichet served as the opening pastry chef of Spice Market, 66, Patroon, and rm.

Pichet has been named one of the Top Ten Pastry Chefs in America by Pastry Arts & Design and Chocolatier, and as a “Pastry Provocateur” by Food & Wine Magazine. In 2002, Pichet was named “Rising Star Chef” by Starchefs and is one of the few pastry chefs to have been featured in the prestigious “The Chef” column of The New York Times. He has also been nominated for the 2008 James Beard Award in the “Outstanding Pastry Chef” category.

Born in Giulianova, region of Abruzzo, Italy

Researcher of Historical cooking from the Roman Empire to the Unification of Italy.

Expert on the cooking of the Italian Jewish Sephardic Heritage Post-Inquisition Era

Director of “Chef Walters Cooking School “Providence Rhode Island, Gubbio/Teramo /Italy

Author of cookbook "Federal Hill Flavors & Knowledge "

Currently working on publishing two cookbooks - 19 Ghettos, the food and life of the Jews in Italy and Federal Hill Sweets

Developer of the Cooking in Terra-cotta with Chef Walter’s brand “Terra-wares” domestically made and available nationwide.

Featured on the Food Network with Mario Batali, Florence Taylor and on PBS with Mary Ann Esposito host of his own "Stir it up" cooking show in New England.

Appeared in national and international publications, such as La Cucina Italiana, Gourmet, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, Yankee Magazine, Gastronomica, New York Times, Boston Globe etc.

Chef Rodriguez, 43, a son of Cuban immigrants, was raised in Miami. He grew up with the sights, smells and tastes of Cuban/American cuisine and developed a passion for food early on. By the age of 13, he had a collection of cookbooks, pots and pans, and was developing and preparing original concepts. At 14, he landed his first restaurant job as a summer apprentice at The Four Ambassadors Hotel in Miami. After high school, he gained more experience at the prestigious Fontainebleau Hilton Hotel in Miami Beach before honing his skills and techniques at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, RI.

Returning to Miami, Mr. Rodriguez worked at the Sonesta Beach Hotel and Wet Paint Cafe. In 1989 he opened Yuca, an upscale Cuban style restaurant in Coral Gables. Yuca was a success, and at age 24, Douglas was a celebrated Miami chef, winning the "Chef of the Year, Miami" award from The Chefs of America and receiving his first and second "Rising Chef of the Year" nominations by The James Beard Foundation. While Yuca served distinctly Cuban cuisine, Douglas constantly studied new flavors, ingredients and ideas from his staff, which hails from United Nations of Latin American countries. Soon after that Douglas headed straight for New York City.

Mr. Rodriguez became the executive chef and co-owner of the phenomenally successful Patria, which opened in 1994 in New York City. It was the laboratory for his new cuisine, which he called "Nuevo Latino." Patria received a three star review in the New York Times and accolades from The New Yorker and Gourmet among others. After Patria, Mr. Rodriguez opened Chicama, a Peruvian Ceviche bar, to 2 stars in the New York Times followed by Pipa, a Tapas bar that became one of the favorite spots for New Yorkers.

Recently, Newsweek selected Douglas Rodriguez as one of the 100 Americans that will influence the coming millennium. People magazine featured him in an article titled "Douglas Rodriguez - Superchef Makes Latin Food Haute Haute. He received the prestigious 1996 James Beard Foundation's Rising Star Chef of the Year Award. James Beard Foundation nominated Chef Rodriguez once again for Best Chefs South Region 2008. Mr. Rodriguez is the author of Nuevo Latino (published in October 1995), Latin Ladles (published in November of 1997), Latin Flavors on the Grill (published in 2000) and has been signed by a major publisher to complete a four book series. In March 2003 he released his fourth book, The Great Ceviche Book.

Mr. Rodriguez has been featured in myriad national publications including Food and Wine, The Metropolitan Home, Esquire, and Bon Appetit, and has made numerous television appearances including Late Night with David Letterman, Good Morning America, The Today Show, and CBS Weekend This Morning. In May 1998, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree from Johnson and Wales University.

In 1998, Jacques released a 52 episode public television series, Dessert Circus with Jacques Torres, along with two companion cookbooks, Dessert Circus: Extraordinary Desserts You Can Make At Home (William Morrow), which earned a 1999 James Beard Award nomination, and Dessert Circus At Home (William Morrow). Jacques Torres is also the Dean of Pastry Arts at The French Culinary Institute. His third cookbook, A Year In Chocolate (Stewart, Tabori and Chang), is scheduled for a Fall 2008 release.

Legendary chef Norman Van Aken is known internationally as “the founding father of New World Cuisine”. This fusion of Latin, Caribbean, Asian, African and American flavors initially came into prominence in the mid-1980s, when Van Aken led a quartet of top South Florida chefs, referred to as the “Mango Gang,” and they placed South Florida’s New World Cuisine on the international culinary map. He is also known as the man who introduced the term “Fusion Cooking” to the world.

Van Aken’s list of distinctions and honors is lengthy. The chef is the only Floridian inducted into the prestigious “James Beard list of ‘Who’s Who”. He was the winner of the prestigious James Beard Award, ‘Best Chef in the Southeast’ in 1997. In addition “Norman’s” of Coral Gables, Florida, was deemed “Best Restaurant in Florida” by The New York Times and one of “America’s Top Tables” by Gourmet magazine for four consecutive years. “Norman’s” was also nominated by the James Beard Foundation as “The Best Restaurant in America in its first year of eligibility. He was hailed as a “culinary genius” by Johnson and Wales University and given an honorary doctorate. In 2006 he was honored as one of the “Founders of the New American Cuisine,” alongside Alice Waters, Paul Prudhomme, and Mark Miller at Spain’s International Summit of Gastronomy Madrid Fusion event. Chef Van Aken was the first chef in America to become a member of the James Beard Foundation’s Board of Trustees. His last task was fulfilling a request made by Susan Ungaro, president of the Foundation, to accept the Celebrated Culinarian Award posthumously for James Beard, from The American Culinary Federation. He was recently named to the James Beard Foundation’s National Advisory Board.

He oversees his acclaimed restaurant; Norman’s at the Ritz-Carlton, Orlando, conducts culinary demos and seminars across the country and recently launched his own line of signature cookware on QVC.

Norman Van Aken has published four books: Feast of Sunlight 1988, The Exotic Fruit Book 1995, Norman’s New World Cuisine 1997, and New World Kitchen 2003.

He lives in Key West with his wife and soul mate Janet. They have one son, Justin who is also a Chef.

After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Richard Doucette spent the first 20 years of his career in the kitchens of Bally’s Park Place in Atlantic City learning everything there is to know about high volume culinary operations and working his way up from relief cook to assistant executive. This experience provided a unique wealth of opportunities, all under one roof.

Doucette grew up in New Jersey and discovered his culinary idols watching morning television while half of his junior high school was attending the first split session. Julia Childs, Jacques Pepin and Graham Kerr provided the information and inspiration to pursue a culinary career. Not long after, Doucette began developing his cooking skills while working in the kitchen of his father’s family-owned bar/restaurant during high school. There he learned a key trait that he finds just as important today as it was when he was a teenager: show up to work every day ready to work, motivated and ready to deliver a maximum effort.

At Mohegan Sun, Doucette is responsible for overseeing, developing and directing the entire kitchen operation, which includes a team of more than 700 culinary team members, 29 dining outlets and the Northeast’s largest ballroom, which can accommodate up to 5,000 guests.

In his new role as Executive Chef of SolToro Tequila Grill, Mateo has enthusiastically embraced the vibrant flavors of Mexico. To prepare the menu, he trained with Chef Dudley Nieto, a nationally recognized specialist in the authentic Mexican regional cuisines. Mateo now expertly translates the many flavors of Mexico to create SolToro’s authentic, upscale menu.

In his free time, Mateo can be found with his wife and three children, cheering on his favorite sports teams, the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Steelers. 

While earning his culinary degree in pastry from the City & Guild of London Institute, a cooperate education offered in conjunction with the Hotel Catering and Institutional Management Association of England, Mansel served as the third Pastry Chef at the five-star London Tara Hotel. It was here that Rene Schubert taught Mansel the art of sugar work and wedding cakes, an experience that continues to drive his interest in training up-and-coming pastry chefs at Mohegan Sun.

During the first ten years of his professional career, Chef Mansel focused on show work, plated desserts and developing fine pastries that are artistically attractive and exceptionally tasteful. While creating special event culinary masterpieces for high profile clients at Skyline Park Tower and Sheraton Park Tower in London, and organizing and producing daily pastries for four hotels and country clubs throughout Bermuda, Mansel drew inspiration from a variety of environments and mentors.

In 1981, Mansel came to the United States and served as the pre-opening Executive Pastry Chef for the Hotel Meridian in Boston. Mansel opened the five-star restaurant Julien, and working alongside Master Chefs Paul Bocuse and Gerard Vie. This provided Mansel an opportunity to further develop his culinary style, which he describes as European and regional American.

The challenge of creating a new environment and building a team is an aspect that brought Mansel to the pre-opening at the Westin Hotel, Copley Place in Boston in 1983. Here he continued to develop his nouvelle cuisine style and won several local awards.

Before joining Mohegan Sun in 1996, Mansel opened retail and commercial businesses, Mansel’s Patisserie & Bakery in Avon, Connecticut, and Desserts International, in Woburn, Mass. in 1989. Both outlets delivered high end pastries, signature cakes for restaurants and wedding cakes.

Chef Mansel has won many awards in pastry including: Just Desserts, Alliance Francaise Award in 1986, 1997 and 1998; the Bailey’s Irish Cream Contest in 1998; the Mystic, Connecticut Easter Seals’ Chocolate Contest in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996; and “Best of Show and Most Creative” at the First Annual Christmas Gingerbread House Competition in Hartford in 1999.

Professional Idols: Edwald Nottre
Signature Dessert: Anything With Chocolate

While at Mohegan Sun, Chef Steelman has also served as Restaurant Sous Chef for the property’s signature gourmet restaurant Rain – responsible for developing menus, controlling food costs, purchasing, scheduling and payroll. Other culinary positions at Mohegan Sun included: Sous Chef at the Longhouse; Line Chef at Mohegan Territory; and Line Chef at Season’s Buffet.

Chef Steelman grew up in the shadows of Atlantic City, and started his career at Gary’s Little Rock Café in Ventnor, New Jersey before moving on to the Atlantic City Hilton Hotel and Casino.

As Sous Chef of The Hilton Lounge, Chef Steelman improved the morale of the room and quality of food. He oversaw a staff of 25 and served up to 2,500 meals daily. At the Atlantic City Hilton, Chef Steelman also served as Cook at The Oaks Steak House and the Peregrine’s restaurant, where he assisted the restaurant chefs in generating ideas for creative new menu items.