CELEBRITY GUESTS

José Andrés

José Andrés is an internationally recognized culinary innovator best known for bringing both traditional and avant-garde Spanish fare to America.
 
José is chef / owner of THINKfoodGROUP, the creative team responsible for some of Washington’s favorite dining concepts: Café Atlantico, Jaleo, Zaytinya, Oyamel and the critically acclaimed minibar by josé andrés. In 2008, José and THINKfoodGROUP partnered with SBE Hotels and designer Phillippe Starck to create The Bazaar at the new SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, a luxury hotel brand built around the food and beverage concepts.

Andrés is the host of José: Made in Spain, the PBS television series focusing on Spain’s wine, food and travel and author of the companion book, as well as Tapas: a Taste of Spain in America.

In 2003, José won the James Beard Foundation's Best Chef of the Mid-Atlantic Region.  In 2004 alone, Bon Appetit magazine named José Chef of the Year, Food & Wine included José in their 35 under 35 Tastemakers list and Saveur included José on their Saveur 100 list.  In 2007, José was inducted into the Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America, by the James Beard Foundation joining only 191 members for this prestigious recognition..  In March 2010, José was awarded the Vilcek Prize for the Arts, which celebrates the achievements of immigrants to the sciences, arts and culture in the US.  This fall, he joins Ferran Adrià to teach a first-of-its-kind molecular gastronomy course at Harvard.
 
For many Americans the exuberant Spaniard is Mr. Spain thanks to frequent spots on NBC's TODAY Show, his victory on the Food Network's Iron Chef America, his appearance on CBS's the Late Show with David Letterman and this year's feature piece on 60 Minutes with Anderson Cooper.  On PBS, José has been profiled on Chef's Story, Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie and Bittman Takes on America's Chefs. José has also appeared in major national media such as NPR's All Things Considered, Food Arts, USA Today, FOX News Sunday with Chris Wallace and Gourmet.
 
José lives in Maryland with his wife and three daughters.

Anthony Bourdain

In 1999, ANTHONY BOURDAIN was chefing at Brasserie Les Halles in New York City when The New Yorker published his edgy article, Don’t Eat Before Reading This, about the seamier side of New York’s restaurant kitchens, to incredible reviews.  A full-length book, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, soon followed, and his life hasn’t been the same since.

Within a couple of years, Bourdain made his TV debut on the Food Network with A Cook’s Tour, a 22-episode series featuring Bourdain circling the globe and feeding his adventure eating (and drinking) habit with the most extreme cuisine the world had to offer.  His current award-winning show, Anthony Bourdain:  No Reservations, is now in its fifth season on the Travel Channel.

He is the author of ten books, including food/travel essays, mystery novels, a cookbook and and “urban historical” on Typhoid Mary.  His writings have been published in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Maxim, Observer, and the Face.  He is an ongoing contributor and authority for Food Arts magazine and an occasional guest on Top Chef.    The Beirut episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, which he filmed during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2007.  His blog for the reality competition show Top Chef was nominated for a Webby Award in 2008.

Born in 1956, attended Vassar College and graduated from the world-renowned Culinary Institute of America in 1978.  For the next 20 years, he worked in, and then began running, kitchens in New York restaurants such as Supper Club, One Fifth Avenue, and Sullivan’s.  He remains Honorary Chef-at-Large for Brasserie Les Halles.

Bourdain and his wife Ottavia Busia live in New York with their four-year-old daughter Ariana.

Tom Colicchio

TOM COLICCHIO is the head judge of the Emmy award winning Bravo reality TV show Top Chef, now in its seventh season.

Colicchio served as the consulting producer on Bravo's "Top Chef" spin-off series entitled "Top Chef Masters" and was the winner of the 2010 Outstanding Chef award from the James Beard Foundation.

Colicchio spent his childhood immersed in food, cooking with his mother and grandmother.  It was his father, however, who suggested that he make a career of it.  Colicchio taught himself to cook with the help of Jacques Pépin's legendary illustrated manuals on French cooking, La Technique and La Méthode. At the age of 17, he made his kitchen debut in his hometown at Evelyn's Seafood Restaurant.
 
Colicchio then cooked at prominent New York restaurants such as The Quilted Giraffe, Gotham Bar & Grill, Rakel, and Mondrian, which was awarded three stars during his stay as Executive Chef. 

Michael Mina

Born in Cairo and raised in Washington state, MICHAEL MINA started his culinary career at 15, working garde manger in a small French restaurant in his home town.  He moved on to the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, interning with Charlie Palmer at Aureole. 

But the 40-year-old Mina really established his reputation in San Francisco, where he was welcomed by a major earthquake his second day in the city.  He began with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at the Bel Air Hotel in Los Angeles with the fabled George Morrone.  Together, they developed Aqua, which opened to rave reviews in 1991.  In 1997, Mina was named a Rising Star Chef by the James Beard Foundation, which later honored him with Best California Chef in 2002. That same year, he founded his own company with partner Andre Agassi. 

His 17-restaurant empire now includes five in Las Vegas:  the eponymous Michael Mina as well as Seablue, Stripsteak, NobHill Tavern and American Fish.  His California restaurants include the original Michael Mina in San Francisco (also home of Clock Bar and the new RN74), Arcadia in San Jose, and Stonehill Tavern in the southern coastal town of Dana Point.  His Bourbon Steak restaurants are scattered across the country, including here in Washington DC.  Other unique restaurants include
Nemi (Mexico City) and Saltwater (Detroit ).

Mina’s awards include Bon Appetit Chef of the Year 2005, San Francisco Magazine Chef of the Year 2005 and Restaurateur of the Year 2005 by the International Food and Beverage Forum.  He has been featured in Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, Gourmet, Food Arts, Cigar Aficionado, Newsweek, TIME, Robb Report, Travel & Leisure, Wine Spectator, and others, as well as on the Food Network , Fine Living Network, the CBS Early Show, the NBC Today Show and Fox's syndicated "Good Day Live." 

“I have been very fortunate to earn a living through my true passion,” says Mina.  “Over a decade in the kitchen has taught me so much about myself, my style and how to share this excitement with my guests.  Each new project shows me that there is absolutely nothing I would rather do.”