The cuisine of California reflects the diverse culture of California and is influenced largely by European American, Hispanic American, East Asian and Oceanian influences, and Western European influences, as well as the food trends and traditions of larger American cuisine.
Kathryn Lee Gifford is an American television presenter, singer, songwriter, actress, and author. From 1985 to 2000, she and Regis Philbin hosted the talk show Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee. Gifford is also known for her 11-year run with Hoda Kotb, on the fourth hour of NBC's Today show (2008–2019). She has received 11 Daytime Emmy nominations and won her first Daytime Emmy in 2010 as part of the Today team.
Edward Reese Allen is an American author and television personality. He was the food and wine connoisseur on the Bravo network's television program Queer Eye, and has been the host of the TV cooking competition series Chopped since its launch in 2009, as well as Chopped Junior, which began in mid-2015. On April 13, 2014, he became the host of another Food Network show, originally called America's Best Cook. A retooled version of that show, retitled All-Star Academy, debuted on March 1, 2015. In early 2015, he also hosted a four-part special, Best. Ever., which scoured America for its best burgers, pizza, breakfast, and barbecue. He is a longtime contributing writer to Esquire magazine, an author of two cookbooks, and regularly appears on the Food Network show Beat Bobby Flay and other television cooking shows.
Hoda Kotb is an American broadcast journalist, television personality, and author. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC News morning show Today and co-host of its entertainment-focused fourth hour. Kotb formerly served as a correspondent for the television news magazine program Dateline NBC.
Frito pie is a dish popular in the Midwestern, Southeastern, and Southwestern United States, whose basic ingredients are chili, cheese, and corn chips. Additions can include salsa, refried beans, sour cream, onion, rice, or jalapeños. There are many variations and alternative names used by region. Frito pie can be prepared in a casserole dish, but an alternate preparation can be in a single-serve Fritos-type corn chip bag with various ingredients as toppings.
Curtis Travis Stone is an Australian celebrity chef, author, and television personality. Stone has been the fresh food and recipes ambassador for Coles Supermarkets in Australia since 2010.
A taquito, taco dorado, rolled taco, or flauta is a Mexican dish that typically consists of a small rolled-up tortilla that contains filling, including beef, cheese or chicken. The filled tortilla is then shallow-fried or deep-fried. The dish is often topped with condiments such as sour cream and guacamole. Corn tortillas are generally used to make taquitos. The dish is more commonly known as flautas when they are larger than their taquito counterparts, and can be made with either flour or corn tortillas.
Mary Ann Esposito is an American chef, cookbook writer, and the television host of Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito, which started in 1989 and is the longest-running television cooking program in America.
Sam Choy Sr. is an American chef, restaurateur, and television personality known as a founding contributor of Pacific Rim cuisine.
Carne asada fries are a local dish speciality found on the menus of restaurants primarily in the American Southwest, including San Diego, where it originated.
Emeril John Lagasse 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.
Wayne Harley Brachman is an American pastry chef, cookbook author and television host. He is most known to audiences as one of the rotating co-hosts on the Food Network show Melting Pot, which aired in the early 2000s and featured two chefs per episode cooking foods unique to their cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Brachman's segments were co-hosted with Michael Symon. Brachman drew upon his Jewish heritage and Symon cooked family recipes from his Romanian grandfather during their segments which were classified as Eastern European according to the show's categories. Brachman also frequently appeared as a guest co-host on Sweet Dreams, a Food Network dessert show hosted by Gale Gand. He also worked as a spokesman for Hass Avocados from Mexico in the mid-to-late 2000s.
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".
Melissa Donovan d'Arabian is an American cookbook author and television show host. She won the fifth season of Food Network Star in 2009. Following her victory, she went on to host Ten Dollar Dinners on Food Network.
Donal Skehan is an Irish television personality, presenter, food writer, cook, photographer and former singer. He is known for his television appearances, cookbooks and YouTube channel.
Don Chow Tacos was a Chinese-Mexican fusion food truck based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on April 22, 2009, by Dominic Lau and Lawrence Lie with the motto, "Where Chino meets Latino", representing their Chinese heritage and Hispanic influences. Don Chow Tacos ceased operations on February 16, 2015.
Marcela Luz Valladolid is an American chef and author. She was the host of the Food Network television series Mexican Made Easy, and a judge on the Food Network series Best Baker in America.
Lorena Garcia is a Venezuelan chef who has opened multiple restaurants and became famous through appearances on multiple television shows. She is known for the restaurants she currently owns in airports across the United States, and for competing on the show Top Chef Masters. Garcia has put out her own cookbook and a line of kitchenware, while also making strides in her life to help end obesity.
Babish Culinary Universe, formerly Binging with Babish, is a YouTube cooking channel created by American cook and filmmaker Andrew Rea that recreates recipes featured in film, television, and video games in the Binging with Babish series, as well as more traditional recipes in the Basics with Babish series. The first video in the series was uploaded on February 10, 2016.
