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Tom Colicchio on "Top Chef"
Tom Colicchio on "Top Chef" - © Bravo
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One of the culinary world's most celebrated figures, Tom Colicchio returns once again as lead judge for Bravo's sixth season of the Emmy and James Beard Award-winning culinary series "Top Chef: Las Vegas," and also serves as mentor to the competing chefs on the series, guiding them through their various challenges.

Tom Colicchio, born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, 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. Tom 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, Tom Colicchio made his kitchen debut in his native town of Elizabeth at Evelyn's Seafood Restaurant.

Tom Colicchio then cooked at prominent New York restaurants such as The Quilted Giraffe, Gotham Bar & Grill, Rakel, and Mondrian. During his tenure as executive chef of Mondrian, Food & Wine Magazine selected Tom Colicchio as one of the top ten "Best New Chefs" in the United States and the New York Times awarded the restaurant three stars.

In July of 1994, Tom Colicchio, along with partner Danny Meyer, opened Gramercy Tavern in Manhattan's Gramercy Park neighborhood. In 1996, Ruth Reichl of the New York Times awarded Gramercy Tavern three stars noting that Tom Colicchio was "cooking with extraordinary confidence, creating dishes characterized by bold flavors and unusual harmonies." Tom Colicchio's cooking at Gramercy earned consistent recognition: After three nominations for James Beard's Best Chef NY Award, he won it in 2000.

One year later in March 2001, and one block south of Gramercy Tavern, Tom Colicchio opened Craft. Soon thereafter, in July 2001, William Grimes of the New York Times awarded Craft with three stars naming Craft "a vision of food heaven." Tom Colicchio continues to be celebrated in publications such as Saveur, House Beautiful, Gourmet, Food & Wine Magazine, Esquire, GQ and New York Magazine.

Tom Colicchio's first cookbook, "Think Like a Chef," published by Clarkson-Potter, won a James Beard KitchenAid Cookbook Award in May 2001. This same year, Gramercy Tavern was awarded for Outstanding Service. In 2002, Craft was awarded the James Beard Best New Restaurant Award and Gramercy Tavern's sommelier won for Outstanding Wine Service. In October 2002, Tom Colicchio received Bon Appétit and the Food Network's Award for Chef of the Year in their American Food and Entertaining Awards.

After opening Craft and Craftbar in New York City, Tom Colicchio opened Craftsteak at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in July 2002. In spring 2003, 'wichcraft opened – a sandwich shop rooted in the same food and hospitality philosophies as Craft. 'wichcraft now has six New York City locations, one in Las Vegas and most recently, a location in San Francisco.

Tom Colicchio's second cookbook, "Craft of Cooking," (Clarkson Potter/Publishers), released in October 2003, will soon be followed by a sandwich book inspired by 'wichcraft.

In 2006, Craftsteak New York and Craft Dallas opened and work has begun on Craft Los Angeles – slated to open in Spring 2007.

Tom Colicchio consults at the restaurants at The Core Club (NYC), Liberty National Golf Club (Jersey City) and Voysey's and Tides (Kiawah Island, SC) and Doonbeg (Ireland) all private clubs.

Tom Colicchio and his restaurants give back to the community by supporting charities including Share Our Strength, Children of Bellevue, City Meals-on-Wheels, The College Fund, Pediatric AIDS Foundation and Doctors of the World.






TOM COLICCHIO: FACTS

How tall is Tom Colicchio? How old is Tom Colicchio? Where was Tom Colicchio born? Find out here.

Age: 47 years old
Birthday: August 15, 1962
Height: 5' 9 ½"
Nickname: Tommy
Full Name / Real Name: Thomas Patrick Colicchio
Birthplace: Elizabeth, NJ
Wife: Lori Silverbush




TOM COLICCHIO: NEWS


Tom Colicchio on "Top Chef" 2009 Emmy Award Nominations Announced"30 Rock" and "Mad Men" come out on top again this year for comedy and drama series with 22 and 16 nominations respectively, while "Grey Gardens" cultivates 17, "Into the West" rides into the sunset with 14, "Saturday Night Live" yucks it up for 13, and "Dancing with the Stars" waltzes away with 10. Read more...
Contestants on "Top Chef 6: Las Vegas" The Steaks are Higher on 'Top Chef: Las Vegas'When Season 6 premieres on Wednesday, August 26, 17 new chefs rack it up in sin city along with guest judges and stars Natalie Portman, Wolfgang Puck, Daniel Boulud, Tyler Florence, Penn & Teller and Nigella Lawson. Read more...

TOP CHEF: NEWS (24)


Fabio Viviani on "Top Chef 5: New York" 'Top Chef: Las Vegas' Travels to Napa ValleyThe final 4 will hit the road for the wineries on Wednesday, December 2, and the winner of "Top Chef" will be chosen the following week. Read more...
Desserts on 'Top Chef' MenuBravo is holding casting calls for the spin-off series, "Top Chef: Just Desserts," which will pit pastry chefs against one another in a series of challenges. Read more...
'Top Chef' Season 7 Starts CastingOpen calls for chefs interested in competing in the high-stakes culinary competition series will be held in cities across the country starting on October 18. Read more...
SEE ALL TOP CHEF NEWS (24)