Thirty-year Food Network veteran Tyler Florence has captivated millions of viewers on numerous hit shows, including Emmy-nominated Tyler’s Ultimate and The Great Food Truck Race, which will be airing its nineteenth successful season on the Food Network during its 2026 summer lineup.
Tyler’s reach and influence extends well beyond his cooking shows, as he has authored 17 cookbooks, including his latest book, American Grill (Abrams), and built an ever-expanding business empire across many platforms.
He is a proud graduate of Johnson & Wales University, and a two-time James Beard Award nominee for Best Chef West Coast. Tyler launched his award-winning flagship restaurant, Wayfare Tavern, over a decade ago.
In June 2024, San Francisco Magazine bestowed upon Tyler the coveted title of Chef of the Year.
His highly acclaimed San Francisco restaurant, Miller & Lux, located in the Chase Arena, home of the Golden State Warriors, was named Best Steakhouse in the Bay Area by San Francisco Magazine three years running. The restaurant was recently named No. 4 on the list of 50 Best Steak Restaurants in North America and named No. 25 Best Steak House in the World by Upper Cut Media House.
In 2023 Tyler opened his second, hugely popular, award-winning outpost of Miller & Lux in Hawaii at the Four Seasons resort, which Honolulu Magazine named the Gold Winner for Best Hawaii Island Steakhouse and Bronze Winner for Best Steak. The Honolulu Star named Miller & Lux Hualalai as the Best Neighbor Island Restaurant.
In 2017 Tyler created a full-stack production company, Monarch Collective, Inc. His debut film Uncrushable, a documentary about the Northern California wildfires, was the catalyst for the company. Since then, he has produced content for television and digital media and created advertising/marketing videos for a variety of well-known clients including The Venetian Resort, Red Bull, The Four Seasons, and The Food Network/Discovery.
His insatiable quest for what’s current and interesting in the food and lifestyle space has always positioned him at the forefront of new trends, gaining him a large and engaged social media following that extends above the 1M mark. He calls Corte Madera, California, home, where he lives in an 1890’s-era Bernard Maybeck home with his wife and children.
There are few American chefs, much less female chefs, who can boast staying power in Michelin-starred restaurants. Chef Alexandra Guarnaschelli can boast indeed—she embarked on a culinary journey in France and ended up working in some of the country’s top restaurants, including chef Guy Savoy’s eponymous three-star kitchen.
Not surprising for the daughter of esteemed cookbook editor Maria Guarnaschelli, she spent her childhood surrounded by food. Alex learned to eat according to whatever book her mother was working on at the time. One year was devoted to Indian with Classic Indian Cooking by Julie Sahni; another year was devoted to Italian with The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper.
"My mother was always coaxing me from my ‘Barbie land’ under the dining room table to peel potatoes, knead bread, or assemble a trifle,” says Alex, who jokingly continues, “what else could a seven-year-old have wanted from life?”
This early emphasis on her palate truly shaped her future in food. On the day of Alex’s graduation from Barnard College in 1991, she decided to explore her culinary interests and began working under the tutelage of the acclaimed American chef and restaurateur Larry Forgione.
Forgione encouraged Guarnaschelli to travel and expand her skill set, so she obligingly moved to France to do a work-study at La Varenne Culinary School in Burgundy. After school and traveling throughout France, she moved to Paris to begin a four-day stage at the Michelin three-star Restaurant Guy Savoy. Four days turned into four years with Alex rapidly being promoted to sous chef at La Butte Chaillot, another Savoy establishment. “The first three months were terrifying—imagine being a young American woman in charge of a French kitchen with ten young, male cooks under you. Professionally, it was a life-changing experience,” she says.
After seven successful years in France, Chef Alex returned stateside. Though she left the country, she maintained her connection with the cuisine, joining the venerable Daniel Boulud at restaurant Daniel, where she quickly rose through the ranks to become sous chef at the Manhattan standard. Always looking to expand her culinary knowledge, Alex moved to Los Angeles for two years to join Joachim Splichal’s Patina Group, where she worked at the acclaimed Patina restaurant in West Hollywood before moving to New York to open Splichal's first New York City venture.
In 2003 Alex was given the opportunity to expand her repertoire and become the executive chef at Butter Restaurant, where she would create her own eclectic American and green market-inspired menu. In addition to her restaurant work, she inspires budding chefs as a chef-instructor at New York City’s Institute of Culinary Education. Chef Alex also helmed the kitchen of the NYC modern dining and cabaret concept The Darby. In 2012 she competed against nine rival chefs to win The Next Iron Chef: Redemption, earning the coveted title of Iron Chef.
Chef Alex first appeared on Food Network in 2006 and has since been part of hundreds of episodes of programming on the network, including as a judge on Chopped, cohost of The Kitchen, host of Supermarket Stakeout, and star of Alex vs America. Most recently, Alex opened a new restaurant, Clara, at The New York Historical.
Stephanie Izard, recipient of James Beard Best Chef: Great Lakes and Food & Wine Best New Chef, is the executive chef and owner of Girl & the Goat, Little Goat, Duck Duck Goat, and Cabra in Chicagoland, along with Girl & the Goat and Valley Goat in California. Stephanie also won the coveted title of Iron Chef in 2017 and was the fourth winner of Bravo’s Top Chef. Chef Stephanie jumped back into television in 2023 with the release of The Curious Chef, a Tastemade television series where she visits home cooks to get a taste of their time-honored recipes and traditions. In addition, she has made numerous appearances, as both a competitor and a judge, on shows including Tournament of Champions, Hell’s Kitchen, Superchef Grudge Match, Guy’s Grocery Games, Chopped, and more.
A James Beard Best New Restaurant nominee, Girl & the Goat has been praised by high-profile publications such as Saveur, New York Times, and Food & Wine. Little Goat Diner, Stephanie’s highly successful follow-up to Girl & the Goat, features classic, Americana cuisine in a diner setting. In March 2016, Stephanie opened her third restaurant, a Chinese-inspired concept called Duck Duck Goat and in 2019, Stephanie’s Peruvian-inspired eatery, Cabra, opened on the rooftop of The Hoxton, Chicago. Then Stephanie expanded to the West Coast with Girl & the Goat in downtown Los Angeles and, more recently, Valley Goat in Silicon Valley. The latest addition to the Goat family is Lucky Goat, located within Chicagoland’s Hollywood Casino. Chef Stephanie’s first book, Girl in the Kitchen, was released in 2011 and her second book Gather & Graze was released in April 2018.
is an award-winning chef, restaurateur, entrepreneur, and media personality who has shaped Italian and American dining for over four decades. Known for his soulful approach to food and hospitality, he leads acclaimed restaurants including (Bahamas), (Atlanta, GA), and (Monticello, NY), each showcasing his signature style of refined Italian cuisine infused with American influences, seasonal ingredients, and the spirit of sprezzatura.
A James Beard Award winner and previous FOOD & WINE Best New Chef, Scott also founded , a premium Italian food brand inspired by his family heritage with signature sauces and pantry staples. A familiar face on Food Network for more than 15 years, he is a longtime Chopped judge and the bestselling author of . Across restaurants, consumer products, and media, Scott remains dedicated to connecting people through food, storytelling, and genuine hospitality.
Chef Melissa King is a James Beard Award-winning chef, author, curator, and television personality.
She was the winner and fan favorite of Top Chef All-Stars: Los Angeles season 17 and holds the record for the most challenge wins in the show’s history. She is the host of National Geographic’s Tasting Wild and has appeared on culinary programs including Top Chef, America’s Test Kitchen, and Pamela’s Cooking With Love.
Raised in Los Angeles’s San Gabriel Valley and San Francisco, she’s redefined modern Asian cuisine inspired by her Shanghainese-Cantonese heritage and the produce-driven spirit of the West Coast.
Her cookbook Cook Like a King: Recipes from my California Chinese Kitchen brings this vision of modern fusion to life through seasonal recipes that bridge cultures and generations.Her highly anticipated memoir, The Girl Who Became King, will be released on October 6.
Melissa completed a B.A. in cognitive science at University of California, Irvine; graduated at the top of her class at the Culinary Institute of America; and is a certified Level I Sommelier. She helmed several Michelin-starred kitchens in San Francisco. She was the culinary curator for the 2022 Met Gala alongside Anna Wintour, creating experiences that bridge food, art, and storytelling.
As a proud queer Chinese American, she is a leading voice in inclusion and representation. She has partnered with organizations like Stop AAPI Hate, World Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry, and famously donated 100% of her fan favorite prize to support Asian Americans and LGBTQ+ organizations.
Her advocacy has been recognized by Out Magazine’s Out100 list and as Celebrity Grand Marshal of San Francisco Pride. She had the honor of introducing the first Korean American Muppet on HBO Max’s Sesame Street: See Us Coming Together special celebrating the AAPI community.
Chef Melissa has modeled for global campaigns for Levi’s and Gap celebrating diversity and LGBTQ visibility.
Based in San Francisco and New York, Melissa leads a creative culinary company producing global brand collaborations, immersive dining experiences, and her small-batch condiment line, King Sauce. With every project, Chef Melissa King continues to push the boundaries of American cuisine—bold, inclusive, and unapologetically her own.
Chef Dan Jacobs is the head chef and co-owner of Milwaukee’s EsterEv, a globally inspired tasting menu concept, and DanDan, a modern Chinese-American restaurant with Midwest sensibility. A four-time James Beard Best Chef Midwest Semifinalist and 2024 Nominee alongside his business partner, Chef Dan Van Rite, Dan Jacobs also champions causes beyond the kitchen, including his advocacy for independent restaurants through the IRC and organizations like World Central Kitchen and No Kid Hungry. Diagnosed with Kennedy’s Disease in 2016, a rare neuromuscular disorder, Chef Dan continues to run two acclaimed restaurants while raising $90,000 and counting for awareness. He earned national acclaim as the runner-up on season 21 of Top Chef, filmed in his home state of Wisconsin.
Dan Pelosi is the Italian-American meatball making meatballs behind GrossyPelosi, the popular Instagram favorite for all things food, comfort, and lifestyle. Approachable and tasty, Dan’s dishes are meant to be shared with the ones you love. Dan is the author of the New York Times best-selling cookbooks (2023) and (2025) and regularly contributes recipes to New York Times Cooking. He splits his time between Brooklyn and Upstate New York, and you can always find him online at or on social media.
Caroline Chambers is a New York Times best-selling cookbook author, recipe developer, and culinary expert based in Carmel Valley, California. Her journey began in her mom's kitchen in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and blossomed into a career as a chef, caterer, and freelancer for top brands and publications. Caroline's first cookbook, Just Married, was published in 2018. She went on to launch her hit Substack newsletter, What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking, and her second cookbook of the same name — an instant New York Times bestseller — was released in 2024. Her forthcoming cookbook, What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking: Make It Fast, features 100 new recipes for busy people who love good food and will be released on August 11, 2026. She lives with her husband George and their four sons, Mattis, Calum, Cashel, and Tavish.
Hunter by name and trade, Michael Hunter is an outdoorsman, forager, hunter, professionally trained chef, and author of the best-selling cookbook, The Hunter Chef. Michael is the co-owner of Antler Kitchen and Bar in Toronto, Canada, founded in 2015. Antler is strongly rooted in regional food culture. It embodies local flavor and spirit, offering contemporary dishes with an emphasis on game meat, sustainably caught wild fish, as well as wild-foraged and farmed vegetables that are always raised with passion and care. Antler has received countless accolades locally and nationally including the internationally acclaimed Michelin Guide. Michael has cooked at culinary festivals around the world including the United States, United Arab Emirates, Australia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil, and is eagerly returning to Kohler Food & Wine for the second time in 2026.
Host and executive producer of the cooking series Ellie’s Real Good Food on Public Television and well known from her hit Food Network show Healthy Appetite, Ellie Krieger is a New York Times best-selling, International Associate of Culinary Professionals, and two-time James Beard Foundation award-winning author of seven cookbooks. She is a weekly food columnist for The Washington Post, podcast host, and author of a weekly .
A registered dietitian nutritionist who earned her bachelor’s in clinical nutrition from Cornell University and her master’s in nutrition education from Teachers College, Columbia University, Ellie finds happiness living with her daughter and husband in New York City, where most days you can find her walking or biking in Central Park. She offers articles, videos, recipes, and more on .
Chef Chris Mangless is a Green Bay, Wisconsin, native dedicated to local and seasonal cuisine. Chris had a love of food from the start, cooking for his parents at the ripe age of six. He grew up as part of a small Midwest family, and was constantly surrounded by comfortable, simple foods that nourished the body and soul. His grandfather owned and operated Widow Jones Bakery, allowing Chris to see firsthand the value of dedication to the craft while learning everything he could from his father, one of the original bakers at Widow Jones.
Chris began cooking in restaurants during his high school years and when it came time for college, he instinctually chose culinary school. He attended Johnson & Wales University and upon graduation, set out to learn the craft at several highly touted restaurants throughout the country. He traveled to Orlando to work under legendary chef Norman Van Aken where he was fortunate to learn the techniques of New World cuisine. After his time in Florida, Chris continued his journey through the Midwest, staging at several high-profile restaurants before landing back in Green Bay where he started The Traveling Chef, with the thought of creating in-home tasting dinners as a way to stay creative between cooking gigs.
In May of 2011, Chris unveiled Three Three Five, a private dining studio located in the historic Broadway District of downtown Green Bay. Three Three Five has allowed him the opportunity to provide a private locale for parties, events, and intimate concerts, while serving as base camp for The Traveling Chef. Three Three Five is open as a restaurant one night a week on Wednesday evenings, creating the opportunity for his team to experiment, create, and innovate. His passion and focus emphasize seasonality with a blend of classical and modern technique, yielding an incomparable take on American cuisine.
Chris Schemm is a Wisconsin-based orthopedic trauma nurse practitioner with Prevea, husband, father of three, and award-winning self-taught home cook with a passion for live-fire cooking, bold flavors, and bringing people together through food. What began as a creative outlet to balance the demands of working in medicine has grown into opportunities to share his cooking on Fox 11's Good Day Wisconsin, Living, and Food Network's NFL Tailgate Takedown.
Known for his approachable style and love of cooking over an open flame, Chris creates elevated dishes inspired by backyard gatherings, tailgates, and Midwestern hospitality. Follow his cooking adventures and live-fire creations on social media at .
