James Beard Award-winning cookbook author Art is the executive chef of Table Fifty-Two in Chicago, Southern Art in Atlanta, Art & Soul in Washington, D.C., and Lyfe Kitchen restaurants. He was Oprah Winfrey's personal chef for 10 years. He is also the founder of Common Threads, a nonprofit that teaches low-income kids how to cook. In 2007 Art also won the James Beard Humanitarian of the Year Award. Charity: Reunion.org
Round 1: Brian Malarkey
Brian is the executive chef of Searsucker, Herringbone, Green Acre and Campine, all in Southern California. His restaurants have garnered many accolades, including being named among OpenTable's 100 Top Hot Spots in the nation. Brian began cooking at an early age, learning from his grandmother, and eventually enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu in Portland, Ore. He appears as a judge on Guy's Grocery Games. Charity: Chimps Inc.
Round 1: Eric Greenspan
Eric is the executive chef and owner of The Roof on Wilshire, Etage and Greenspan's Grilled Cheese, all in Los Angeles. His cooking competition credits include winning Cutthroat Kitchen: Superstar Sabotage. Eric attended Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and has worked in Michelin-starred restaurants; he is well-known for his fusion cuisine, molecular style and award-winning grilled cheese sandwiches. Charity: Stu and the Kids
Round 1: Madison Cowan
Chef and TV personality Madison was the first Chopped Grand Champion. He's been cooking since the age of 14 and got his big break working at Tavern on the Green under the tutelage of Patrick Clark. He's active in first lady Michelle Obama's Chefs Move to Schools initiative. Madison also runs a private catering and events company, Avenue Inc. He appears as a judge on Guy's Grocery Games. Charity: Alzheimer's Association, New York City Chapter
Round 2: Anne Burrell
Chef, cookbook author and TV personality Anne hosts Secrets of a Restaurant Chef and serves as a mentor on Worst Cooks in America. She attended the Culinary Institute of America and afterward spent a year studying and working in Italy. She has since worked in New York City restaurants and taught at the Institute of Culinary Education. Anne's most-recent cookbook is Own Your Kitchen. Charity: Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Round 2: Dale Talde
Best known for his appearance on Top Chef, Dale is the executive chef of Talde, Pork Slope and Thistle Hill Tavern, all in Brooklyn, New York, and Talde JC in Jersey City, N.J. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, he worked for Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Masaharu Morimoto. Dale's focus is modern Asian cuisine, but with the opening of Carrino Provisions in Jersey City, he's ventured into Italian. Charity: Care USA
Round 2: Hung Huynh
Hung is the executive chef at The General and Catch in New York City and Catch Miami. He is well-known as the Season 3 winner of Top Chef. Born in Vietnam and raised in Massachusetts, Hung grew up in his parents' restaurant, eventually attending the Culinary Institute of America. He went on to work at Per Se and Guy Savoy before developing his modern Asian style of cooking. Charity: Sunflower Mission
Round 2: Mary Sue Milliken
Mary Sue is the executive chef and co-owner of Border Grill, with locations in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, with her longtime collaborator, Susan Feniger. The two started cooking French cuisine before being drawn to Mexican flavors, opening their first restaurant, City Cafe, in 1981. Together they hosted Too Hot Tamales. Mary Sue serves on the board of directors of Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign. Charity: No Kid Hungry
Round 3: Antonia Lofaso
Antonia is the executive chef and owner of Black Market and Scopa Italian Roots in Los Angeles. Her claim to fame was appearing on Season 4 of Top Chef. Growing up in an Italian household with food at its center deeply influenced Antonia's culinary path. After graduating from the French Culinary Institute, she worked at Spago and then Foxtail. Antonia appears regularly as a judge on Cutthroat Kitchen. Charity: Beit T'Shuvah
Round 3: Cat Cora
Cat is the executive chef of Kouzzina, Ocean Restaurant and Cat Cora's Kitchen. She competed on Iron Chef America as the first female Iron Chef. Brought up in a Greek community in a family of restaurateurs, Cat knew early on that her career would be in food. Mentored by Julia Child, she went on to attend the Culinary Institute of America and continued her education in France. Charity: Chefs for Humanity
Round 3: Marcel Vigneron
Well-known for using molecular cooking techniques, Marcel first made a name for himself as the runner-up on Season 2 of Top Chef. He attended the Culinary Institute of America before starting his culinary career. Marcel currently runs the catering and event company Modern Global Tasting in Los Angeles and is preparing to open a vegetable-focused restaurant, Beefsteak. Charity: L.A. Kitchen
Round 3: Michael Psilakis
Michael is the executive chef and owner of Kefi, Fishtag and MP Taverna, all in New York City. Never having attended culinary school, he found himself in the kitchen by accident, stepping in for an absent chef at Ecco, where he worked front of the house. Inspired by his Greek upbringing, Michael has created some of the most-popular Greek restaurants in New York City, including Kefi. Charity: The Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation
Round 4: Fabio Viviani
Fabio is the executive chef and owner of Café Firenze and Firenze Osteria in Southern California and Sierra Tavern in Chicago. Born in Florence, Italy, Fabio starting working in kitchens at the age of 11 and by 18 was operating his first restaurant. By 27, before moving to the States, he was running numerous restaurants and nightclubs. Fabio is in the process of opening new restaurants in Chicago and Miami. Charity: ALS Association
Round 4: Jet Tila
Jet Tila is the executive chef and owner of Kuma Snowcream in Las Vegas and Modern Asian Kitchen in Chicago. Jet dropped out of high school to teach cooking classes in his backyard, but eventually enrolled in the California School of Culinary Arts. He holds five different food-related world records, including one for the largest California roll. Jet appears regularly as a judge on Cutthroat Kitchen.
Lee Anne is the executive chef of the Koko Head Cafe in Honolulu. She has appeared on Unique Eats and Food Crawl, and she was a finalist on the first season of Top Chef. She initially went to school for fashion but found a passion for cooking and enrolled in the French Culinary Institute. She worked all over the world before returning to the States. Her most-recent cookbook is Dumplings All Day Wong. Charity: Conservation International, Hawaii
Round 4: Rocco DiSpirito
New York Times best-selling cookbook author and celebrity chef Rocco found his cooking inspiration in his Italian upbringing in Queens, N.Y. He enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America at age 16 and went on to cook in France before returning to New York. He worked at Lespinasse before opening his own restaurant, Union Pacific, and later starred in The Restaurant. Charity: Feeding America
More Chopped All-Stars
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