Richard Blais

Richard Blais
Born February 19, 1972
Uniondale, New York, United States
Education The Culinary Institute of America

Culinary career

Website
RichardBlais.net

Richard Blais (born February 19, 1972), perhaps most recognizable as winner of Top Chef All Stars, is known for his innovative take on classic American cuisine. He is an American chef, reality show contestant, restaurateur and James Beard-nominated author. He was the runner-up of the fourth season of the reality television show Top Chef and the winner of season eight, Top Chef: All-Stars[1] as well as a recurring judge on Top Chef Season 12 and host of the Food Network series, "Hungry Games."

Education and early career

Blais was born in Uniondale, New York. He received an AOS in culinary arts from The Culinary Institute of America and has studied under acclaimed chefs Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud, and Ferran Adrià.

Career

A native New Yorker, Blais relocated to Atlanta in 2000 where he founded Trail Blais, a creative culinary company that has consulted on, designed and operates some of Atlanta’s most popular eateries including FLIP Burger Boutique which now has numerous locations in Atlanta, Alabama and Nashville. In February 2013, Blais released his debut cookbook, Try This at Home: Recipes From My Head to Your Plate, which reveals a simplified approach to adventurous cooking and offers new flavor combinations for home cooks to reinvent classic dishes. Try This at Home was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award 2014 in the “Cookbook: General Cooking” category. Most recently, Blais opened Juniper & Ivy in San Diego, his first West Coast restaurant that offers refined American food with a "left coast edge."

Top Chef

Richard Blais

Blais appeared as a contestant on the fourth season of Bravo's Top Chef.[2] He went on to become the runner-up, losing to Stephanie Izard. In August 2009, Blais appeared on Bravo's spin off, Top Chef Masters, assisting eventual winner Rick Bayless.

In 2010, he competed in Top Chef: All-Stars. He won the competition, earning the title of "Top Chef" by defeating Mike Isabella in the season finale, which aired on March 30, 2011.

Blais appeared as a main judge on Top Chef Boston (season 12) in 2014 - 2015.

Other television appearances

Blais has appeared several times on the show Iron Chef America, and several times as a sous chef for Iron Chef Cat Cora. He is a regular on the Food Network, with continuous appearances on "Guy's Grocery Games" as well as the host on Food Network's most recent addition, "Hungry Games."

He also hosted the cooking competition show "Cook Your Ass Off," in which chef contestants tried to transform unhealthy dishes into more nutritious, gourmet options.


Restaurants

Richard Blais runs three restaurants:

Personal

Blais now resides in Southern California with his family. He has run three NYC marathons.

Books

In July 2011, Blais signed a cookbook deal with Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House. The book, "Try This at Home: Recipes from My Head to Your Plate," was released on February 26, 2013 and received a James Beard Award nomination for the 2014 James Beard Awards.

Other accomplishments

In November 2011, Blais ran the ING New York City marathon for Alliance for a Healthier Generation. It was his first marathon, and he completed it in 4:31:54.He has since run two other New York City marathons.

References

  1. ↑ BravoTV.com. "Bravo TV Top Chef Bio".
  2. ↑ Bravotv.com. "Season 4 Bios: Richard Blais".
  3. ↑ "Flip burger boutique". Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  4. ↑ Eater.com. "Inside Most Anticipated Juniper & Ivy, Plus a Menu Reveal". Retrieved 30 March 2014.

External links