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MANILA, Philippines - Who is the Italian-American celebrity chef who was named the top chef in 2010 the US by the James Beard Foundation? He also won an Emmy Award in the same year for Outstanding Reality-Competition Programming as executive producer of Top Chef.

He was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1962, and 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, and he taught himself to cook with the help of Jacques Pepin’s legendary manuals on French cooking, La Technique and La Methode.

At the age of 17, he made his kitchen debut in Evelyn’s Seafood Restaurant in his hometown.  He then cooked inprominent New York restaurants such as the Quilted Giraffe, Gotham Bar and Grill, Rakel, and Mondrian.  It was during his tenure in Mondrian that Food and Wine magazine selected him as one of the top ten “Best New Chefs” in the United States and the New York Times awarded the restaurant three stars.

In 1994, he and business partner Danny Meyer opened Gramercy Tavern in Manhattan Gramercy Park neighborhood. His cooking at Gramercy Tavern won consistent recognition, garnering three stars from Ruth Reichl of the New York Times and earning him the James Beard Foundation’s “2000 Best Chef-New York Award.”

In 2001, he opened Craft, which the New York Times awarded three stars, deeming the restaurant, “a vision of food heaven.”  The restaurant focused on simple, exquisitely prepared meat and vegetable dishes.  â€œI wanted to showcase the craftsmanship of cooking, not the artistry,” he says.  â€œAnd the way I want to do that is to have the highest quality ingredients and do as little to them as possible and serve them as simply as possible.”

Craft was awarded the James Beard Foundation Award for “Best New Restaurant in 2002,” the same year he received the “Chef of the Year” award from Bon Apetit American Food and Entertaining magazine

With Craft and its casual sibling, Craftbar in New York, he set out to expand his simple, elegant brand of cooking.  He has since opened Craftsteak at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and Foxwoods  and in New York City, as well as Craft and Craftbar in Los Angeles.

He opened his first Wichcraft — a sandwich shop rooted in the same food and hospitality philosophies in 2003.  Today,  Wichcraft has 14 New York City locations, as well as outlets in the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and the Westfield Center in San Francisco.

In January 2010, he opened a self-named resto in New York where he improvises with small batch ingredients from micro producers and family farmers with whom he has forged decades long relationships.  The restaurant earned three stars from the New York Times.

Later that year, he opened Riverpark in New York, which features views of the East River and an urban farm supplying produce to the restaurant.

In May 2010, he was awarded the James Beard Foundation’s “Outstanding Chef” award, the culmination of his 30 years of hard work in the restaurant industry.

He has published four cookbooks to date:  Think Like a Chef,  which won the James Beard Foundation Kitchen Aid Cook book award in May 2001; the Craft of Cooking, A sandwich book inspired by Wichcraft; and Top Chef:  The Cookbook. He also became known beyond his foodie fanbase as the host of Top Chef.

Despite his massive food empire, he still values simplicity.  His favorite seasonings are salt and pepper and his favorite kitchen tool remains the 10-inch knife.  His number one rule for a successful kitchen?  Clean up after yourself.

He and his restaurants also give back to the community.  Shortly after 911, he joined volunteers serving food to rescue workers at ground zero.  He supports charities like Children of Bellevue, City Harvest, Alex’s Lemonade

Foundation, United Way of New York, and Food Bank for New York City.

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Last week’s question: Who is the American restaurateur, host, consultant, food world insider known as the “Curator of Chinese Food in America” through restaurants like RedFarm and Uncle Tais Hunan Yuan?

Answer: Ed Schoenfeld

Winner: Rolly C. Bague of Manila

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Text your answer to 0927-7579807 with your name and address. One winner will be chosen through a raffle of texts with the correct answer. The winner will receive P2,000 worth of SM gift certificates for use at Our Home, SM Department Store, or SM Supermarket. They can claim their prize at Our Home in SM Megamall. Call the store manager at 634-1951.Bring photocopies of two valid IDs and a clipping of the Design Quiz issue in which you appear as winner.