Alex Hitz (born February 10, 1969) is an American celebrity chef, author of two cookbooks, philanthropist, socialite, columnist. Founder of the food product line The Beverly Hills Kitchen. Former food editor of House Beautiful.
He was named “the very best host in the world” by The Wall Street Journal. [1] [2] [3]
Alex Hitz was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on February 10, 1969, to Caroline Bryans Sauls and Alex Hitz. His mother's family was one of the investors in The Coca-Cola Company, and Mrs. Hitz was a trustee of the Atlanta Memorial Arts Center (now called the Woodruff Arts Center) and the Atlanta Historical Society (now called the Atlanta History Center). [4] His father's family is descended from Florian Hitz, the first Swiss ambassador to the United States. [5] His parents divorced when Hitz was three years old, and in December 1973 his mother remarried Robert Shaw, a symphonic and choral conductor. Hitz spent his young years at the family home in France. [6]
In 1987, after graduating from Avon Old Farms School, Hitz worked at the restaurant The Patio by The River in Atlanta, Georgia. [7]
Alex Hitz graduated with a bachelor's degree in English from Washington and Lee University in 1991. At the same time, he attended undergraduate programs at the University of London, where he studied English and Theatre, and at L’Université de Paris-La Sorbonne, where he studied French Culture and Civilization. [8] He completed advanced programs at Peter Kump's Cooking School (now the Institute of Culinary Education) in New York City in 1995 and Le Cordon Bleu in Paris in 1996. [4] [9]
In 1991, Hitz became co-owner of The Patio by the River with Mary Boyle Hataway and sold it in 1994. In 1995, he moved to New York City and produced some Broadway shows (Triumph of Love (1997), the revival of The Sound of Music (1998) etc.) [10] In 1998, Hitz started investing in real estate in the New York, Atlanta, and Los Angeles areas and designed bespoke clothing. [11] [3] Since 2009, Hitz is one of the three trustees of The Dennis Hopper Trust. [12]
In 2008 Hitz began developing The Beverly Hills Kitchen which was a line of gourmet frozen food products. The first food product, Beef Bourguignon, was presented on the QVC on October 1, 2009. [13] [14] [15] In January 2011 Hitz moved his product line to the Home Shopping Network (HSN) television station. [16]
Hitz culinary art combines the Atlanta and French cuisines and cooking styles. He creates haute-cuisine restaurant-quality recipes for the home cook. His updated Southern dishes consist of the Low Country and the Creole cuisines. [5] His teachers were Andre Soltner at Lutèce in New York, and Michel Guerard at Eugenie-Les-Bains in France. [17]
Hitz is the author of the cookbook My Beverly Hills Kitchen: Classic Southern Cooking with a French Twist (Knopf, October 2012). [18] [19] [20] [21]
In October 2019, he published his second book The Art of The Host: Recipes and Rules for Flawless Entertaining (Rizzoli). [22] [23] [24]
He was a food columnist of House Beautiful [25] and he is a contributing editor of Town&Country Magazine. [26]
He is known as “The Ralph Lauren of food and wine”. [9] [27]
Julia Carolyn Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which premiered in 1963.
James Andrews Beard was an American chef, cookbook author, teacher and television personality. He pioneered television cooking shows, taught at The James Beard Cooking School in New York City and Seaside, Oregon, and lectured widely. He emphasized American cooking, prepared with fresh, wholesome, American ingredients, to a country just becoming aware of its own culinary heritage. Beard taught and mentored generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. He published more than twenty books, and his memory is honored by his foundation's annual James Beard Awards.
A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes.
Ina Rosenberg Garten is an American author, host of the Food Network program Barefoot Contessa, and a former staff member of the Office of Management and Budget. Among her dishes are Perfect Roast Chicken, Weeknight Bolognese, French Apple Tart, and a simplified version of beef bourguignon. Her culinary career began with her gourmet food store, Barefoot Contessa; Garten then expanded her activities to many best-selling cookbooks, magazine columns, and a popular Food Network television show.
Julia's Kitchen Wisdom is the final cookbook authored by chef and television personality Julia Child. Co-authored by David Nussbaum and edited by Judith Jones, the book covers basic cooking principles and techniques and was designed to serve as a reference point for amateur cooks. Julia's Kitchen Wisdom was the 17th book written by Child and gained widespread popularity following the release of the 2009 film, 'Julie and Julia'.
The French Chef is an American television cooking show created and hosted by Julia Child, produced and broadcast by WGBH, the public television station in Boston, Massachusetts, from February 11, 1963 to January 14, 1973. It was one of the first cooking shows on American television.
Wolfgang Johannes Puck is an Austrian-American chef and restaurateur.
Craig Claiborne was an American restaurant critic, food journalist and book author. A long-time food editor and restaurant critic for The New York Times, he was also the author of numerous cookbooks and an autobiography. Over the course of his career, he made many contributions to gastronomy and food writing in the United States.
Mastering the Art of French Cooking is a two-volume French cookbook written by Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, both from France, and Julia Child, who was from the United States. The book was written for the American market and published by Knopf in 1961 and 1970.
Salade niçoise, salada nissarda in the Niçard dialect of the Occitan language, insalata nizzarda in Italian, is a salad that originated in the French city of Nice. It is traditionally made of tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, Niçoise olives and anchovies or tuna, dressed with olive oil, or in some historical versions, a vinaigrette. It has been popular worldwide since the early 20th century, and has been prepared and discussed by many chefs. Delia Smith called it "one of the best combinations of salad ingredients ever invented" and Gordon Ramsay said that "it must be the finest summer salad of all".
Barbara Tropp was an American orientalist, chef, restaurateur, and food writer. During her career, she operated China Moon restaurant in San Francisco and wrote cookbooks that popularized Chinese cuisine in America. China Moon's accompanying cookbook is credited with being one of the first fusion cuisine cookbooks. She was the 1989 recipient of the Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America James Beard Award. Tropp was called "the Julia Child of Chinese cooking."
Emeril John Lagassé III is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, cookbook author, and National Best Recipe award winner for his "Turkey and Hot Sausage Chili" recipe in 2003. He is a regional James Beard Award winner, known for his mastery of Creole and Cajun cuisine and his self-developed "New New Orleans" style. He is of Portuguese descent on his mother's side, while being of French heritage through his father.
Richard Blais is an American chef, television personality, restaurateur, and author. He appeared on the reality show cooking show Top Chef, and is known for his take on classic American cuisine. Blais was the runner-up for the fourth season of Top Chef and returned several seasons later to win Top Chef: All-Stars.
Joan Nathan is an American cookbook author and newspaper journalist. She has produced TV documentaries on the subject of Jewish cuisine. She was a co-founder of New York's Ninth Avenue Food Festival under then-Mayor Abraham Beame. The Jerusalem Post has called her the "matriarch of Jewish cooking".
The Best Thing I Ever Ate is a television series that originally aired on Food Network, debuting on June 22, 2009.
Scott Peacock is a chef of American Southern cuisine.
Whitney Leigh Miller Humphrey is an American chef who won the first season of the US version of MasterChef in 2010. Miller was named the first ever American MasterChef winner by MasterChef judges, Gordon Ramsay, Graham Elliot, and Joe Bastianich.
Hugh Acheson is a Canadian-born chef and restaurateur. He owns four restaurants in Georgia, and serves as a judge on the reality cooking competition show Top Chef, and as an Iron Chef on Iron Chef Canada.
The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize culinary professionals in the United States. The awards recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists each year, and are generally scheduled around James Beard's May birthday.
The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize culinary professionals in the United States. The awards recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists each year, and are generally scheduled around James Beard's May birthday.