He or she is the guy/girl with the vision, the kick, the one who can whip up anything in a matter of minutes. you love his/her sauces, their delicate approach to presentation, and most importantly, is the one that kicks the knockers off your taste buds every time.


For me it's all about Julia Child:

as a chef, she really changed american cuisine by introducing (and making it easily transferrable) to the american market. i respect her whole history, and i love a good Smith girl. she was class from the very beginning, and with 'The French Chef' she made her mark on american history, and me, by teaching us all how to make french bread in the modern kitchen.


so who's your favorite chef?

My mother OBM.

Wylie Dufresne

Bill Telepan

Chef Boyardee.

As a chef, he really changed American cuisine by putting reheatable Italian food in a can.

My son.

my mother in law. Never had a bad meal prepared by her hands. She even made peas taste good and I hate peas.

Mario Batali - He never fails to make my mouth water when I'm watching Iron Chef. Everyone else makes at least one thing that looks gross.

Mario Batali is good-- i second him! have you been his restaurant Esca in NYC? there's also Babbo's, been there?

speaking of which, I work for Gourmet magazine and we're hosting an instant win contest and giving away 35 two day trip at a top resort.

Enter @ http://condenast.eprize.net/gourmet/...ffiliate_id=1v

all you have to do is register, watch a video of David Pasternack (of Esca NYC, jointly owned by your favorite Mario Batali) prepare geoduck (clam, this video is hilarious) and take a 5-question quiz. You don't even have to get the questions right to win! After the quiz you'll know INSTANTLY if you've won or not. If you have any questions regarding the sweepstakes, just ask me. I'm here to help. Or if you'd like to chat more about Batali, i'm a huge fan of his italian cuisine.

Joseph Wrede, among others. He's the chef at Joseph's table in Taos' Hotel La Fonda.

Food there is pretty incredible!

Alice Waters. Julia. Locally, Reed Herron has made a significant impression on the San Francisco food scene. On tv, my favorites are Sara Moulton, Jacques Pepin and the cool and down to earth chefs on the show from Cook's Magazine...America's Cooking Show or whatever the name is. I like straightforward excellence.

My man Marteen.

My daughter who's a CIA trained pastry chef! And if I want something more substantial, her boyfriend also a CIA chef.

I have to go with Julia as well. She was really great.

I do love Alton Brown though - the science behind cooking.

gotta say, i'm quite partial to Sara Moulton-- she's the celebrity around here at Gourmet mag. AND, she was good friends with my girl Julia.

like i suggested angethereader earlier, you would definitely enjoy entering Gourmet's sweepstakes for a free trip to a top resort.

check it out @ http://condenast.eprize.net/gourmet/...ffiliate_id=1v .

like i said, i have a lot of knowledge regarding these chefs, and i'd love to chat about them more if you'd like. also, if you have any questions regarding the sweepstakes, i'm more than happy to answer them for you.

-J

Yeah, Alton's pretty cool. I like his science facts.

I do like Giada di Lorentis though. "So so goood". She makes italian food really easy to make everyday and I like her shortcuts.
...although now that i'm in atkins, I have found the atkins cook books to have super yummy recipes! this is one diet I can stick with. Whoohoo, going on to size 2 now! (sorry i had to add that last bit - teehee).

My dad was the best! Oh, how I miss his cooking.

Also really love Julia and Jacques Pepin. It was a thrill for me to see Julia's kitchen in the Smithsonian a couple of years ago! I stood and stared at everything for the longest time.

Ina Garten. I love how she cooks and entertains.

travelisfun - do you work at Gourmet? I would love to hear more about Sara Moulton. I know she was a protege of Julia Child. I love Gourmet and their approach to food and travel. Would love to hear about any chefs!

Stu Dudley..he cooked for me once but didn't realize it.

Jacques Pepin, with Lidia a close 2d.

Chef Boyardee? That was actually FOOD? Who knew?