Amar Santana

Last updated
Amar Santana
Born1982/1983
Culinary career
Current restaurant(s)
  • Broadway by Amar Santana
    Vaca
Previous restaurant(s)
  • The Hall Global Eatery

Amar Santana (born 1982/1983) [1] is a Dominican-American chef and television personality. He is known as being a two-time contestant on the reality television show Top Chef .

Contents

Early life

Santana was born in the Dominican Republic and immigrated to the United States at age 13. He lived in East Elmhurst, Queens. After taking part in the Careers through Culinary Arts Program at Long Island City High School, he earned a scholarship to the Culinary Institute of America. [2]

Career

Santana studied and worked under chef Charlie Palmer for 10 years. Santana opened the restaurant Broadway By Amar Santana in 2011 in Laguna Beach, followed by Vaca in Costa Mesa in 2015. [3]

In 2013, Santana defeated chef Mirko Pademo in an episode of Knife Fight . [4] In 2015, he was featured on Top Chef: California . He came in second place behind Jeremy Ford. [3] In January 2020, Santana opened The Hall Global Eatery at the South Coast Plaza. It had closed by the end of 2021. [5]

Santana was invited to be a guest judge on Top Chef: Portland . [6] In 2023, he returned as a contestant on Top Chef: World All-Stars . [1] He was eliminated in episode 11 alongside Sara Bradley. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocco DiSpirito</span> American chef

Rocco DiSpirito is an American chef and reality television personality based in New York City, known for starring in the series The Restaurant.

<i>Top Chef</i> American reality competition TV series

Top Chef is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo in March 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional chefs and other notables from the food and wine industry, with one or more contestants eliminated in each episode. The show is produced by Magical Elves Productions, the company that created Project Runway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Island City High School</span> Public school in New York, United States

Long Island City High School, commonly abbreviated L.I.C. or LICHS, is a public high school in Long Island City, Queens, New York City. The present building was built in 1995. The school had an enrollment of around 2,500 in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Burke (chef)</span> American chef and restaurateur

David Burke is an American chef and restaurateur, known for his appearance on the reality TV program Iron Chef America.

<i>Top Chef: Miami</i> Season 3 of American television series

Top Chef: Miami is the third season of the American reality television series Top Chef. It was first filmed in Miami, Florida, before concluding in Aspen, Colorado. The season was Emmy nominated for Outstanding Reality Competition Series, and garnered the Emmy Award for Best Editing in the category. Season 3 premiered on June 13, 2007 and ended on October 10, 2007. Padma Lakshmi returned with Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, and new judge Ted Allen, who switched off with Simmons throughout the season. Top Chef: San Francisco contestant Lee Anne Wong was brought in as a food consultant and assisted in planning the challenges. Production took place in April and May 2007 in Miami Beach, Florida, with production activity centered at the Fontainebleau Hotel. The winning recipe from each week's episode of Season 3 was featured on Bravo's Top Chef website and prepared by Lee Anne Wong in a web series called The Wong Way to Cook. In the season finale, Hung Huynh was declared the winner over runners-up Dale Levitski and Casey Thompson. Thompson was voted Fan Favorite.

Lee Anne Wong is an American chef, restaurateur, a television culinary producer, and television figure. She has appeared as a competitor on reality television cooking competitions, and she is a Top Chef television series alum. Wong was based in New York City, before moving to Hawaii in 2013. She has also worked extensively as a culinary producer for American television series, including for four seasons of Top Chef.

<i>Chopped</i> (TV series) American reality cooking television show

Chopped is an American reality-based cooking television game show series created by Michael Krupat, Dave Noll and Linda Lea. It is hosted by Ted Allen. The series pits four chefs against each other as they compete for a chance to win $10,000. The series debuted in 2009, and episodes air every Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on Food Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Feniger</span> American chef

Susan Feniger is an American chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, and radio and TV personality. She is known for starring in the cooking show Too Hot Tamales on the Food Network and opening several influential restaurants in Los Angeles. She has been awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the California Restaurant Association.

The fifth season of the American reality television series The Next Food Network Star premiered on Sunday, June 7, 2009. Food Network executives, Bob Tuschman and Susie Fogelson, were joined by Bobby Flay as the Selection Committee for this season, which was filmed early 2009 in New York, New York and Miami, Florida.

The seventh season of the renamed American reality television series Food Network Star premiered Sunday, June 5, 2011. Food Network executives, Bob Tuschman and Susie Fogelson, are joined again by Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis as the judges for this season. The series was filmed in Los Angeles, California and New York, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuisine of Atlanta</span>

The cuisine of Atlanta reflects both Southern and much broader influences. The city is home to a mix of high-end chef-driven restaurants receiving praise at the national level, an ethnic restaurant scene along Buford Highway, and traditional Southern eateries.

The ninth season of the American reality television series Food Network Star premiered Sunday, June 2, 2013.

<i>Top Chef: California</i> Season 13 of American television series

Top Chef: California is the thirteenth season of the American reality television series Top Chef. The season was announced by Bravo on April 14, 2015. Similar to Top Chef: Texas, filming took place in several locations across California, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Oakland, and the greater Palm Springs area, concluding with a finale in Las Vegas, Nevada. Top Chef: California had a two-night premiere on December 2–3, 2015. Host Padma Lakshmi and head judge Tom Colicchio returned, alongside judges Gail Simmons, Emeril Lagasse, and Richard Blais, among others. The companion web series, Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen, also returned, premiering immediately following the second part of the season premiere on December 3, 2015. In the season finale, Jeremy Ford was declared the winner over runner-up Amar Santana. Isaac Toups was voted Fan Favorite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival</span>

The Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival is a food and drink festival that takes place each spring in Disney California Adventure in the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. The festival includes a number of themed kiosks, each featuring food and beverages from a particular aspect of California cuisine. Other offerings include wine and beer tastings, seminars, and cooking demonstrations. This event was inspired by the similar but much larger Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.

The sixth season of the Canadian reality competition show Top Chef Canada was broadcast on Food Network in Canada. It is the Canadian spin-off of Bravo's hit show Top Chef. The program takes place in Toronto, and is hosted by Eden Grinshpan. Season six features 11 young chefs considered to be the next generation of culinary stars.

<i>The Final Table</i> Cooking competition Netflix show

The Final Table is an American cooking competition and reality television series hosted by food writer and critic Andrew Knowlton, and filmed in Los Angeles, California for Netflix. The first season was released on November 20, 2018. It features twelve international teams of two professional chefs each competing to create elevated dishes based on the country chosen for each episode. The first round is judged by a three-person panel—a food critic, and two culturally significant citizens, all representing the episode's country—assessing each team's interpretation of their chosen nationally significant dish. Interspersed among the cooking activities are video packages featuring the culinary biographies of the contestants.

Jason Quinn is a chef who won The Great Food Truck Race in 2011 and who is frequently a reference point in the development of culinary culture in Orange County, California.

Top Chef Family Style is an American reality television series and a spin-off of Bravo's Top Chef series. The show features young chefs teaming up with adult family members to compete in culinary challenges for a US$100,000 prize. The series was ordered in May 2021 by streaming service Peacock. It is hosted by Meghan Trainor with Marcus Samuelsson serving as head judge. The series premiered on September 9, 2021, and concluded on December 2, 2021. In the season finale, niece and uncle Delilah and Daniel "Danny" Flores were declared the winners, with daughter and mother Anika and Anupama "Anu" Kumar placing as runners-up. In 2022, the second episode "Truffles, Caviar & Prawns -- Oh My!" received the James Beard Foundation Award for Reality or Competition Visual Media.

Shirley Chung is a Chinese-American chef known for appearances on Top Chef: New Orleans, Top Chef: Charleston and Food Network's Tournament of Champions.

<i>Top Chef: World All-Stars</i> Season 20 of American television series

Top Chef: World All-Stars is the twentieth season of the American reality television series Top Chef. Initial details about the season were released by Bravo and NBCUniversal on August 1, 2022, with filming beginning the same month. The majority of the competition was shot in London, with the season finale set in Paris, marking the first time the show had been filmed entirely abroad. The cast included past contestants from several international editions of Top Chef. Throughout the season, Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio, and Gail Simmons were joined by judges from the international editions, in addition to global culinary experts. This is the last season to feature Lakshmi as host. The winner received US$250,000.

References

  1. 1 2 Mosqueda, Sarah (9 March 2023). "It's round three on 'Top Chef' for Amar Santana". Daily Pilot. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  2. Matua, Angela (7 January 2016). "Watch this East Elmhurst native on the current season of 'Top Chef'". QNS. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  3. 1 2 Luna, Nancy (18 March 2016). "How Amar Santana went from an impoverished childhood to 'Top Chef' contender". Orange County Register. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  4. Luna, Nancy (20 October 2015). "Orange County chef Amar Santana will appear on 'Top Chef'". Orange County Register. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  5. Valdespino, Anne (8 December 2021). "Amar Santana's The Hall Global Eatery is closing at South Coast Plaza". Orange County Register. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  6. Cook, B. W. (21 May 2021). "The Crowd: Local celebrity chef Amar Santana returns to Bravo's 'Top Chef'". Daily Pilot. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  7. Montgomery, Daniel (19 May 2023). "'Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen' finale: Which of these three eliminated chefs will return to the competition?". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved 28 May 2023.