Every day Great Chefs searches the web for news about our celebrity chefs, here’s an article we hope you’ll enjoy.

Known as one of the country’s leading contemporary Latin food chefs, Sanchez credits his Mexican-born mother, the renowned chef Zarela Martinez, with sparking his interest in cooking. Born in El Paso in 1976, Sanchez spent hi

Source: http://www.mysanantonio.com/sacultura/conexion/Aaron_Sanchez_For_the_love_of_food__competition.html

Roy Khoo
Ocean Palace Resort and Spa, Long Branch NJ
taped at The Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.
http://www.oceanpalaceresort.com

Born in Penang, Malaysia, Chef Khoo started out with his family in the catering business, delivering food on a bicycle.

He joined the Golden Sands Beach Resort in Panang as a kitchen artist, mainly doing ice sculptures and tallow work.

His first break came when he was offered a job as assistant chef garde manger in Bermuda at the Southampton Princess in 1987. After three months, the garde manger chef left and Khoo was promoted, where he stayed for three and a half years.

In 1990 he joined The Ritz-Carlton Buckhead in Atlanta as assistant garde manger chef, where he won best of show in food competition. After a year, he joined The Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island, Florida, as an opening team member and garde manger chef. In his six years there, he headed all areas of the kitchen as cafe, banquet chef, and finally executive sous chef, before moving to the Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas as executive chef. Since taping for Great Chefs, Khoo has taught, worked at the Ritz-Carlton Bali, and has now moved to the Ocean Palace Resort and Spa in Long Branch, New Jersey.
 

Robert Holley
taped at
Brasserie Le Coze
Atlanta GA
http://www.buckheadrestaurants.com/afm

Native New Yorker Robert Holley graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, and in 1987 went to work for the brother-and-sister team of Maguy and Gilbert Le Coze at New York’s extraordinary Le Bernardin Restaurant. Under the tutelage of New York Times four-star chef Gilbert Le Coze, Holley learned the special skills of fish preparation. In his four years at Le Bernardin, Holley worked hard learning the techniques of a fine French kitchen. In 1991 the Le Cozes opened Brasserie Le Coze in Miami, and Holley joined them as executive chef.

Holley gave Miami residents something to celebrate in the more casual, but still elegant and disciplined, Brasserie Le Coze. The immediate praise and accolades encouraged the brother-and-sister team to open a second Brasserie Le Coze in Atlanta in 1994. One year later, Holley moved to Atlanta to become executive chef. His reception there has been as warm and enthusiastic as it was in Miami.

Atlantans embraced and celebrated the talented Holley, while being amazed and delighted by such dishes as skate with brown butter scattered with capers and salmon over French lentils splashed with vinegar. Food writers have alternately described Holley’s dishes as “downright mesmerizing,” “magical in its essence,” and “miraculous.” Writer Terrell Vermont said, “I’m grateful for this new restaurant, and applaud its every effort.”

Holley was chosen to represent the United States in the Culinary Olympics in Germany in 1987.  He was the team captain for the hot food competition, where his team bested culinary teams from around the world to capture a silver medal. Since 2002 Holley has run the kitchen at Atlanta Fish Market in the Buckhead area. It is most appropriate that this chef who once set out to become a marine biologist is working at the most popular seafood restaurant in Atlanta in a building noted for its enormous fish sculpture outside.
 

Chris Northmore
Everglades Club, Palm Beach FL
taped at Cherokee Town & Country Club
Atlanta GA

When taped for Great Chefs Chris Northmore was the executive pastry chef at Atlanta´s popularCherokee Town & Country Club. Now he is at the Everglades Club in Palm Beach, Florida.

Northmore inherited his creative eye from his commercial photographer father. Years of training taught him the art of working with his hands. The aggregate of his talents — his artistic eye, agile hands, and imagination — has won him a Master Pastry Chef certification from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park — one of only three certified in the United States through the American Culinary Federation. It was high praise, indeed, from his alma mater, the result of years of dedication and hard work.

Northmore studied business administration at Eastern Michigan University, but found his niche studying pastry at the Culinary Institute of America. When he graduated in 1979, he decided to try a stint in a pastry shop and landed a job at Atlanta´s Omni Hotel with Gunther Heiland, master pastry chef and an Olympic team veteran. More than two years later, Northmore followed Heiland to philadelphia´s Fairmont Hotel (later the Bellevue Stratford), as assistant pastry chef. After two and a half years there, Northmore moved to Boston as executive chef at the Parker House.

Northmore considers Heiland his ‚“father in the pastry business. He gave me direction and got me involved in culinary competitions.‚” Among the competitions Northmore refers to is the 1988 U.S. Team in the Culinary Olympics in Frankfurt, Germany. As a member of the team, Northmore was responsible for the dessert platters and plates that the national team presented.

Order and discipline define Northmore´s work. As he says, they come with the territory. ‚“You have to be constantly aware of proper temperatures and consistencies.‚” Although he feels his strength is chocolate work, he is not content to confine his talents to one area of the pastry kitchen. Working with sugar and yeast fascinate him as well, and he has studied sugar pulling and sugar blowing, and taken bread dough courses. Yet despite the seeming complexities of his desserts, his philosophy remains that of ‚“simplistic elegance.‚” he is aware that ‚“it´s too easy to produce very complex desserts.‚” His goal is simple, straightforward presentations coupled with a light touch and intense flavors.

Competition is on the mind of everyone who loves Michael Smith and Bobby Flay. With the big Iron Chef America reveal this evening, I had to include a comment about the battle. Pinstress will be watching. …

NBC has hired chef Bobby Flay to top line ‘America’s Next great Restaurant,’ a new food competition show to air next season.Bobby Flay’s already one of the most prolific stars at Food Network. He’s on ‘Iron Chef‘ as one of America’s …

Do we really need another food competition show? I’m inclined to think not. The two Top Chef… … New Food Competition Series With Bobby Flay Announced. By Edwin Goei, Wednesday, Mar. 17 2010 @ 7:47AM. Categories: News …