Chefs & Celebrity Guests
2011 Chefs & Celebrity Guests
Anita Lo (New York) – Chef and owner of Annisa in New York City, Anita Lo, a graduate of the prestigious Ritz-Escoffier school in Paris, is one of the most respected female chefs in the country. Named one of ten “Best New Chefs in America” by Food & Wine magazine (2001) and listed in Crains New York‘s “100 Most Influential Women in Business”, Lo is known for her contemporary American cuisine that blends her Chinese-American upbringing and classic French training. Lo competed on the first season of “Top Chef: Masters” and beat Mario Batali on “Iron Chef America”.
Ana Sortun (Boston) – James Beard winner and owner of Oleana in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Ana Sortun has been called one of the country’s “best creative fusion practitioners.” Sortun’s cookbook, SPICE; Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean, was nominated for Best Cookbook by the James Beard Foundation and is a best seller according to the Boston Globe and LA Times. Ana, who competed on last season’s “Top Chef: Masters”, first cooked on St. Croix more than 15 years ago as a guest chef at Villa Madeleine.
Liza Shaw (San Francisco) – Liza Shaw, the chef and owner of A16 in San Francisco and in Tokyo, was recognized as Restaurant Hospitality’s December 2009 Rising Star, is a member of Women Chefs & Restaurateurs and an active supporter of Chefs Collaborative. She contributed to the writing, recipe development and food styling of the award-winning A16 Food + Wine cookbook. Shaw is a graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont and the California Culinary Academy.
Dannielle Kyrillos (New York) – A series judge on Bravo’s “Top Chef Just Desserts,” the editor of Daily Candy, an on-camera host for the Aspen Food & Wine Classic as well as a syndicated columnist for Gatehouse Media, Dannielle Kyrillos is an expert on the latest in all things style from food, fashion and travel to gifts and entertaining. She appears regularly on NBC’s “Today,” and “The Nate Berkus Show” as well as on “Weekend Today,” “E! News,” BetterTV, CNBC, CNN, and is a frequent contributor to Isaac Mizrahi’s webcasts. She is passionate about entertaining at home, baking (especially pies) and flower-arranging. She graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and lives in the West Village with her husband. You can follow her on Twitter @Dyrillos or at DannielleDishes.com.
Chef Tiffany Derry (Texas) – Beginning her career in hospitality when she was just 15 at the International House of Pancakes. By the age of 17, she was the youngest person to ever be in management at International House of Pancakes. Derry attended the Art Institute of Houston. After AIH, she worked at Pesce Restaurant, then became a teacher at the Art Institute of Dallas Culinary School, then the executive chef of Dallas’ acclaimed Go Fish Ocean Club, and eventually selected for Season 7 of Bravo’s Top Chef, where she was voted “Fan Favorite”. It was on Top Chef where the country was introduced to Derry’s quiet confidence and genuine natural ability in the kitchen. Derry can be seen on the currently running Top Chef All-Stars. In 2011, Derry will open Private Social, a seasonal New American restaurant with dishes inspired by Derry’s culinary travels and influences, with her business partners Andy Austin and Patrick Halbert.
Michael Ferraro (New York) – After graduating from CIA, Ferraro worked at New York City’s famed 5-star, 5-diamond Four Seasons Hotel, serving as Chef Tournant. He then took on the role of Sous Chef at the Biltmore Room working under Chef Gary Robins. Following the closing of the Biltmore Room, Ferraro took top toque as Chef de Cuisine at Patina Restaurant Groups’ Café Centro. Ferraro’s next move brought him to the fine dining seafood restaurant, Fresh Tribeca. Currently, Ferraro is in the kitchen at the popular Soho restaurant, Delicatessen. In addition, he is also the Executive Chef of MacBar, a new restaurant fully dedicated to gourmet macaroni & cheese. As an island that holds mac n cheese as a separate food group, Ferraro is sure to fit in.
Kevin Rathbun (Atlanta) – Winner of Iron Chef America (he beat Bobby Flay), and owner of three nationally acclaimed restaurants in Atlanta (Rathbun’s, Krog Bar, Kevin Rathbun Steak), Kevin Rathbun was nominated for a James Beard Foundation “Rising Star Chef” and has earned numerous awards and accolades including “Best New Restaurant” nods from Bon Appetit, Esquire, Travel & Leisure and AOL, to name just a few. Rathbun, one of the original founders of Share Our Strength, an organization that focuses on ending childhood hunger in America, supports numerous charities including the Atlanta Community Food Bank, Atlanta Zoo, and the St. Croix Foundation.
Roberto Treviño (Puerto Rico) – Roberto Treviño has been featured in Condé Nast Traveler, The New York Times, Bon Appétit and top culinary TV shows. He battled Mario Batali on Food Network’s “Iron Chef America”, has prepared a dinner at the James Beard House and is the chef/owner of the fabulous Budatai as well as his latest and newest, Bar Gitano both on our neighbor island, Puerto Rico.
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