A Guide to the Judges of Top Chef Season 5

Bravo's critically acclaimed series, Top Chef, is back for a fifth season, with this one taking place in New York City. Each season comes with some fresh faces, all vying for the title of being named Top Chef. However, there are some mainstays on the show, and they are the judges. I am sure you are wondering if these individuals are actually qualified enough to be deemed culinary judges. This article will provide you with some insight into each judge, and the involvement in the culinary industry that each judge has.

Tom Colicchio - Head Judge

A native of Elizabeth, NJ, Colicchio grew up being surrounded by food. What started as simply cooking with his family, turned into him studying French cooking techniques, and eventually gaining a job in a restaurant. He started cooking at Evelyn's Seafood Restaurant in Elizabeth at the early age of 17, and this progressed into him eventually becoming executive chef at a restaurant called Mondrian. While working there, he was named one of Food and Wine's "Best New Chefs", in which only 10 people attain each year. He then went on to open his own restaurant, Gramercy Tavern, which was awarded three stars by the New York Times.

Toby Young

Toby Young is a British journalist, whose involvement stems even beyond the food industry. He is the founder of the Modern Review, and he has worked for GQ, Vanity Fair, and The Spectator. He also worked for Evening Standard magazine, where he served as a restaurant critic for a total of five years. Even though he made his Top Chef debut this season, he has appeared on numerous other culinary shows, including Hell's Kitchen. He is very blunt and isn't afraid to express his criticisms, which makes him the perfect person to be a Top Chef judge.

Gail Simmons

Gail Simmons has made her presence known in the culinary world. She has worked for the Dinex Group, which is owned by the world famous Daniel Boulud, Vogue magazine, and she was an apprentice at Vong restaurant. For the last five years, she has been working for Food and Wine magazine, and she has also been involved with the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen. She has written many food related articles for many other magazines as well, and she has helped put together various cookbooks. She is also a graduate of the Institution of Culinary Education.

Padma Lakshmi - Host/Judge

I am sure many of you see Padma as the beautiful host who doesn't know much about food, but she has quite a culinary background. She has two published cookbooks, Tangy, Tart, Hot & Sweet, and Easy Exotic, which was named best cookbook for a first-time author. She has successfully hosted two cooking shows, appeared on many other television shows, and also has written many articles for magazines such as American Vogue.

Source: www.bravotv.com