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Katherine Alford
Katherine Alford is the Senior Writer in the Food Network Culinary Department. Katherine has over 20 years of cooking experience as a chef, teacher, and writer. She was the sous-chef at the Quilted Giraffe, a trend-setting, 4-star restaurant in New York City; the Director of Instruction at Peter Kump's New York Cooking School; and a manager for Greenmarket, organizing New York's famous farmer's markets. She worked with Michael Romano and Danny Meyer on the award winning Union Square Cafe Cookbook (HarperCollins, 1994). Her articles have appeared in national food magazines and her first book, Caviar, Truffles, and Foie Gras, will be published by Chronicle Books in 2001.
Date of birth: July 2
Place: New York City
Education: BA Pomona College, New York Restaurant Certificate
Favorite dishes for cooking:
Any kind of fish, salads, and grilling over a live fire
Favorite dishes for eating: Bread, truffles, corn, ripe tomatoes, cheese, and oysters
Can't stand: Split pea soup and bad tomatoes
Childhood hero: Groucho Marx and Graham Kerr
Most influential in career: Working on a farm, fishing, and travelling has given me an incredible respect for ingredients and the wonderful diversity of food
Alternate dream job: Lighthouse keeper
Sage advice: You learn more from your mistakes than your successes. Take chances when eating, in the kitchen, and in life.
Lynn Kearney
Date of birth: April 9
Place: Chicago, IL
Education: BFA, Theatre Tisch School of the Arts, New York University
Pastry degree, Culinary Institute of America
Favorite dishes for cooking: Pound cake, lamb stew, and pasta pasta pasta
Favorite dishes for eating: Pound cake, lamb stew, and pasta pasta pasta
Can't stand: I eat everything.
Childhood hero: Julia Child
Most influential in career: Georgia Downard
Alternate dream job: Cabaret singer
Sage advice: Thanksgiving Turkey is an act of God. Don't rush.
Eileen McClash
Eileen McClash is the Recipe Coordinator for the Culinary Department. She reads and edits almost every recipe that goes onto our website. She is an avid home cook with over 45 years of cooking experience and she reads cookbooks like novels. The best part of her job is all the great things she learns from our chefs.
Date of birth: January 13
Place: New York
Education: St. Michael's High School, All Saints College, School of Visual Arts, NYU and cooking courses
Favorite dishes for cooking: Fried foods
Favorite dishes for eating: Japanese
Can't stand: Uni
Childhood hero: Dick Tracy
Most influential in career: Good Friends
Alternate dream job: Archaeological Digs
Sage advice: Keep an open mind
Bob Hoebee
Date of birth: October 25, 1958
Place: New York, NY
Education: BA Art History
Favorite dishes for cooking: Love preparing specific regional specialties; French, Italian, Spanish, Chinese. I also enjoy all kinds of baking, especially yeast breads
Favorite dishes for eating: Love almost everything well prepared, some favorites that I don't get to enjoy much are North Carolina Barbecue, and perfect Fried Chicken
Can't stand: Canned asparagus, unnecessary garnishes on plates
Childhood hero: Julia Child
Most influential in career: Grandmother
Alternate dream job: Restaurant reviewer for New York Times
Sage advice: Taste it before you put in on the table, and sit down whenever you can
Robert Bleifer
Robert Bleifer is Head Chef of Culinary Productions and has been with Food Network for over 6 years. Robert has been cooking professionally for 8 years & has been teaching cooking classes for 5 years. Robert comes from quite the varied background. In 1987, he received a BA in Economics from Union College in Schenectady, NY. In 1991, he received an MFA in Photography from RIT in NY & then in 1994 graduated from the French Culinary Institute here in NYC. Prior to coming to the network, Robert spent 1 year working with David Burke at The Park Avenue Cafe.
Date of birth: February 6
Place: The Bronx
Education: BA, Union College; MFA, RIT; Cooking Certificate, French Culinary Institute
Favorite dishes for cooking: Risotto, or cooking over a natural wood fire
Favorite dishes for eating: Fresh seafood
Can't stand: Raw celery, raw green bell peppers, overcooked food
Childhood hero:Joe Dimaggio
Most influential in career:Mom
Alternate dream job: Used to be starting pitcher for the New York Yankees, but now that I'm too old for a tryout, I'd like to run a bison ranch & live on a farm (within close proximity to good restaurants of course.)
Sage advice: Don't be afraid to experiment in the kitchen (just don't do it when company's coming over!) Try new food as often as you can.
Jill Novatt
Date of birth:February 27, 1975
Place:Pennsylvania
Education: B.A. in Non-Fiction Writing from the University of Pittsburgh; Associates Degree in Restaurant Management and Culinary Arts from Scottsdale Culinary Institute
Favorite dishes for cooking:Homemade pasta, Spicy southwestern and authentic Mexican dishes. I love to cook with chiles.
Favorite dishes for eating:Nothing beats a great big, rare Porterhouse steak or french fries with a blue cheese mayonnaise dipping sauce - or better yet, steak and french fries together. Yum.
Can't stand:Raw bananas (cooked are O.K.), canned tuna and cold cereal
Childhood hero:Wonder Woman
Most influential in career:Robert McGrath. I worked for Robert at the Roaring Fork restaurant in Arizona. Robert taught me volumes about food and the restaurant industry. And his passion for food was contagious.
Alternate dream job:Princess
Sage advice: Don't be afraid to fail. Part of becoming a great cook is experimenting - some experiments will work, others will not. Write down the good ones and learn from the bad. Some of my worst failures have led to lessons that helped me create my greatest successes.
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