Celebrity Emcee Chef John Folse
Celebrity Emcee Kevin Roberts
Kevin Roberts’ knack for creativity and healthy eating in the kitchen can be seen, heard, and of course tasted. Growing up in kitchens and focusing his college studies on Health, Nutrition and Kinesiology, Kevin knows cooking from the inside out.
With two cookbooks in print, owner and executive chef of four sports bar/tavern concepts in San Diego and nationally known as a radio and TV personality, Kevin knows a thing or two about pleasing the young adults palate. His acclaimed cookbook, Munchies, is targeted towards the starving struggling to find quick, simple and tasty alternatives to the campus dining halls and fast foods. With recipes like west coast wings, tater tot hash and cinnamon roasted grapefruit, Roberts’ book expresses the sentiment that there is more to cooking than complex recipes and expensive ingredients. Kissing in the Kitchen, his second cookbook, aims to teach the novice chef how to prepare that romantic dinner that every girl or guy dreams of. His Sleep over Spinach and Make-out Macaroni illustrate that food is definitely the way to win anyone’s heart.
Aside from doing over a 100 national and local television shows, including The Today Show, CBS’ Early Show & being a regular on Better TV, he now hosts TLC’s BBQ PitMasters and lectures at university campuses nationwide.
Kevin was also a Top Ten Finalist on The Next Food Network Star, In addition, Roberts is the owner and Executive Chef at San Diego’s award-winning East Village Tavern & Bowl, one of the city’s hottest new downtown urban sports bar.
Raised by a single-mother who worked in restaurants in Los Angeles, Kevin Roberts was in the restaurant business at a very young age. With a lot of trial & error and with the help of his mom and nana, he taught himself to cook at the age of 8 as an act of “self-preservation.” To quote Roberts, “It was either cook or starve…”
Chef Rick Moonen, Judge
Chef Rick Moonen has devoted his career to being the country’s top culinary advocate for sustainable seafood.
A native New Yorker, Moonen graduated first in his class from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York in 1978. He apprenticed at L’Hostellerie Bressane in Hillsdale, New York where he built both his confidence and experience working side by side with Chef Jean Morel.
From there, Moonen assumed the position of saucier at Manhattan’s La Cote Basque. This experience was followed by two years at Le Cirque working with the legendary Alain Sailhac. In the ensuing years, Moonen continued his career in New York, becoming executive chef at some of New York’s most iconic restaurants, including Le Relais, Century Café and Chelsea Central before joining Buzzy O’Keefe at The Water Club.
After six years, Moonen left to become executive chef and partner at Oceana where he helped garner the restaurant national recognition and three stars from The New York Times. His next step was partnering to create Molyvos, a Greek fish house, further demonstrating the range of his culinary skills. Here he brought Greek cuisine to another level, and Molyvos was the first Greek restaurant to earn three stars from The New York Times.
After five years Moonen decided to develop his own restaurant. As executive chef and owner of New York City’s rm, Moonen earned critical acclaim and, once again, received three stars from The New York Times. In 2005, he was drawn to the rapidly developing culinary scene in Las Vegas and closed his doors in New York City to bring his unique flavor and specialties of the seafood world to the West Coast.
In February 2005, Chef Moonen opened his multi-level restaurant Rick Moonen’s rm seafood at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The lower level of the restaurant offers “State of the Art Sustainable Seafood” and a world-class sushi and raw bar. The upper level offers a more elegant dining experience featuring globally inspired cuisine from Chef Moonen’s fun and whimsical tasting and á la carte menus.
Since opening rm seafood, Chef Moonen has enjoyed national attention and acclaim. In 2008, Moonen accomplished a lifelong dream with the publication of his cookbook Fish Without a Doubt, a practical, hands-on guide to buying, preparing and cooking a wide array of fish. That same year, his Catfish Sloppy Joe was highlighted in Esquire magazine’s “Sandwich Encyclopedia”, prompting a guest spot on The Oprah Winfrey Show where he served the talk show queen this signature dish and earned the title of “Best Sandwich in America.” In 2009 he made a memorable appearance as a contestant on Bravo’s hit TV series Top Chef Masters, followed by a stint as a judge on Top Chef Las Vegas where his eponymous restaurant served as the location for the show’s popular “Restaurant Wars” episode – which led to an invitation to participate in the second season of Top Chef Masters where Moonen finished as runner-up – raising thousands of dollars for his charity of choice, Three Square.
When not behind the stove, Moonen can be found throughout the country educating about ocean conservation and the dangers of over fishing. As an industry leader, he has testified for environmental and sustainability policy issues in Washington, DC and New York. He is a founding member of the Seafood Choices Alliances, which named him “Seafood Champion” in 2006, as well as an active member of Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch and Seaweb. In 2011, Monterey Bay Aquarium also honored Moonen as “Chef of the Year.” Second only to his passion for sustainability is his commitment to ending hunger, Moonen puts that commitment into action serving on the chef’s advisory board for the Las Vegas Three Square Food Bank.
In 2010 Moonen was part of a PBS Series, “Chef’s A Field,” that was honored with a James Beard Foundation award for his hosted episode in Alaska about Salmon. During this same year Moonen was also honored at the International Chefs Conference with The Community Award presented by StarChefs.com.
Melissa Kogut, Executive Director of Chefs Collaborative Judge
Melissa Kogut became executive director of Chefs Collaborative, a national chef network changing the sustainable food landscape, in August, 2007. Under Melissa’s leadership, the organization has expanded its profile as well as the depth and reach of its educational and community building programs, including the National Summit, Seafood Solutions (the sustainable seafood education program), and the Farmer-Chef Program. In May 2010, Chefs Collaborative was honored to be invited to deliver a panel to Environmental Protection Agency staff and dignitaries for a series celebrating the 40th anniversary of the agency. Melissa has a background in nonprofit management and community organizing. Prior to her position with Chefs Collaborative, she served for 11 years as executive director of NARAL Massachusetts, a statewide organization that advocates for women’s reproductive health. In 2006, Melissa received the Abigail Adams Award from the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus, which recognizes and honors outstanding women leaders. Melissa has several years experience working in the restaurant industry and a longstanding interest in food, the environment, and sustainability issues.
Patricia Mack, Regional Editor for Gayot.com, Judge
Patricia Mack is an award winning journalist with honors from the New Jersey Press Association, the Association of Food Journalists, Nestle Nutrition Awards and the Garden State Association of Black Journalists.
She is the regional editor for Gayot.com’s Greater New York Metro/Eastern Canada area, supervising six restaurant reviewers and travel writers. Mack is also the New Jersey restaurant reviewer and an at-large travel writer for Gayot, which is owned by Gault-Millau, Paris, France. Headquarters in America are in Los Angeles. In addition to restaurant reviews, she also reviews, hotels and cruises for Gayot.
She is a frequent blogger on the Gayot web site, Gayot.com.
Mack also edits and writes for Knifeforkandspoon.com – a travel and food website.
In addition, Mack is the restaurant reviewer and columnist for N.J. Countryside in Basking Ridge, NJ, an upscale regional magazine that focuses on life the Garden State. Her work has also appeared in Food Arts and Prevention magazine.
Dividing her time between her homes in New Jersey and Florida, Mack also works as senior editor for Seaside Publishing in St. Petersburg, Fl., which has published three of her books — “Delicious Grapefruit” and “Fox Network’s One-Tank Trips.” Her most recent project for Seaside was editing “Cookielicious” by St. Petersburg Times food editor Janet Keeler. Currently she is working on a cookbook about cooking in the sub-tropics.
Mack belongs to several professional organizations. Former vice president of the Association of Food Journalists, Mack currently serves as Region I (Northeastern United States) Director. She is also a member of the International Food, Travel & Wine and Writers Association. She is a Dames de Escoffier (New York Chapter) and a member of the James Beard Foundation where she serves as a regional panelist for the Restaurant Awards Committee, a position she has held for 15 years. In the past, she also served as a contributor for Food and Wine magazine’s Best New Chef’s awards.
Often tapped as a judge for national and regional cooking contests, Mack has worked served as a panelist on the National Chicken Cook-Off, the Del-Marva Chicken Cooking Contest, the NJ Dept. of Agriculture’s Oyster Shucking Contest, The News Tribune’s Annual Cooking Contest, the Sentinel’s cooking contest as well as many other competitions.
She is also the author of several other cookbooks including “The 15-Minute Chef “(HP Books), “Tomatoes” (Record Books), and “Corn” (Record Books).
For 20 years, Mack was food and wine editor and restaurant reviewer at The Record, New Jersey’s second largest daily newspaper.
Chef Roland Schaeffer, Judge
Will Blunt, Managing Editor of StarChefs.com, judge
Growing up in a political family in Washington, DC, Will Blunt graduated from Georgetown University and spent time working for a Congressman on Capitol Hill before moving to New York City. He joined StarChefs.com when the company was in its infancy, and has been instrumental in making it the leading media company for culinary professionals. He now serves on the StarChefs.com Board of Directors and has built ownership in the company. Blunt’s background in politics has not gone to waste: He applies his diplomacy daily to forging relationships with chefs and advertisers alike.
As managing editor, Blunt wears many hats. He has been integral to the vision and development of the International Chefs Congress and has been a key player in ensuring its growth and success. Blunt has built the StarChefs.com advertising client base from virtually nothing and has worked to maintain the integrity and authenticity of the products the company promotes to its audience. He has negotiated the company’s legal and business contracts, and has bridged countless partnerships with media, organizations, and venues.
Blunt’s role goes far beyond the business side of things: He works on the ground to contribute to tasting and interviewing many of the chefs, pastry chefs, sommeliers, mixologists, and restaurateurs that StarChefs features. Particularly involved in the growth of mixology content on the site, Blunt has been a visionary in seeing the importance and influence of mixology in the restaurant industry.
In his role as editor, Blunt has read and revised tens of thousands of pages of editorial content, working day in and day out with the StarChefs editorial staff. He has been a big supporter of charities over the years, such as Share Our Strength, Partnership with Children, Chefs for Scher, and numerous other organizations.
Laura McIntosh, Judge
As host and executive producer of Emmy nominated cooking and lifestyle program Bringing it Home with Laura McIntosh™, the show’s namesake is truly living her dream. Having grown up in the small farming town of Linden in Northern California as part of a close-knit, fifth generation farming family, it was only natural that she developed a love of the soil and passion for food. Today, Laura continues her lifelong commitment to sharing fun and easy ways to enjoy food at its peak of freshness and educating consumers about our global food heritage. Her diligent work and the success of the show have been recognized over the years with various awards and recognitions, including Telly and Aurora awards and a prestigious James Beard nomination.
