Wilbur Mitcham (December 10, 1923 - June 15, 2003) was an American chef.
Mitcham briefly served in the U.S. Army as a field artilleryman during World War II but was medically discharged for health reasons. Upon his discharge from the Army he went to New York City. In New York, he studied cooking under an Asian chef.
Mitcham returned to Macon and landed a position as a short order cook with Len Berg's Restaurant in 1943. "Chef", as he was so affectionately known by his constituents and friends, served as the senior chef cook of Len Berg's Restaurant for over 60 years until he took ill. [1] [2] [3] He cooked for Ben Hogan, Sam Snead and Joe Dimaggio.
Mitcham was married for over 60 years to Annie Mae Leonard. Together they raised eleven children, Patricia A. Mitcham, Ernest Tobias (nephew), Samaria R. Mitcham, Cozy L. Mitcham, Wilhelmina Mitcham, Lydia M. Mitcham, Mary L. Mitcham, Zachery S. Mitcham, Wilma F. Mitcham, Charlotte B. Mitcham, and Julia M. Mitcham. He fathered two other children, a daughter, Laverne Patterson and a son, Eric Jackson. He died on Father's Day 2003.
Mitcham is featured in the book “Remembering Len Berg's Restaurant”. He was the father of Samaria (Mitcham) Bailey and “The Gay Preacher’s Wife” author Lydia Meredith and is featured in her book.
Georges Auguste Escoffier was a French chef, restaurateur, and culinary writer who popularised and updated traditional French cooking methods. Much of Escoffier's technique was based on that of Marie-Antoine Carême, one of the codifiers of French haute cuisine; Escoffier's achievement was to simplify and modernise Carême's elaborate and ornate style. In particular, he codified the recipes for the five mother sauces. Referred to by the French press as roi des cuisiniers et cuisinier des rois, Escoffier was a preeminent figure in London and Paris during the 1890s and the early part of the 20th century.
Keith Floyd was a British celebrity cook, restaurateur, television personality and "gastronaut" who hosted cooking shows for the BBC and published many books combining cookery and travel. On television, his eccentric style of presentation – usually drinking wine as he cooked and talking to his crew – endeared him to millions of viewers worldwide.
Mario Francesco Batali is an American chef, writer, and former restaurateur. Batali co-owned restaurants in New York City; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Newport Beach, California; Boston; Singapore; Westport, Connecticut; and New Haven, Connecticut, including Babbo in New York City, which received a Michelin star for several years. Batali has appeared on the Food Network, on shows such as Molto Mario and Iron Chef America, on which he was one of the featured "Iron Chefs". In 2017, the restaurant review site Eater revealed multiple accusations of sexual misconduct against Batali and, in March 2019, he sold all his restaurant holdings.
Thomas Aloysius Keller is an American chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, the French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Foundation, including Best California Chef in 1996 and Best Chef in America in 1997. The restaurant was a perennial winner in the annual Restaurant list of the Top 50 Restaurants of the World; the voting process has since been changed to disallow previous winners from being considered.
Henry Antony Cardew Worrall Thompson is an English restaurateur and celebrity chef, television presenter and radio broadcaster.
Andrew Scott Berg is an American biographer. After graduating from Princeton University in 1971, Berg expanded his senior thesis on editor Maxwell Perkins into a full-length biography, Max Perkins: Editor of Genius (1978), which won a National Book Award. His second book Goldwyn: A Biography was published in 1989.
Eric Ripert is a French chef, author, and television personality specializing in modern French cuisine and noted for his work with seafood.
John Douglas Torode is an Australian-British celebrity chef and TV presenter. He moved to the UK in the 1990s and began working at Conran Group's restaurants. After first appearing on television on ITV's This Morning, he started presenting a revamped MasterChef on BBC One in 2005. He is a restaurateur; former owner of the Luxe and a second restaurant, Smiths of Smithfield. He has also written a number of cookbooks, including writing some with former MasterChef presenter and judge, Gregg Wallace.
Gennaro Contaldo OSI is an Italian chef known for his association with his British protégé, Jamie Oliver, and his partnership with fellow Italian chef Antonio Carluccio and their BBC Two television series Two Greedy Italians.
Marcus Wareing is an English celebrity chef who was Chef-Owner of the one-Michelin-starred restaurant Marcus until its permanent closure in December 2023. Since 2014, Wareing has been a judge on MasterChef: The Professionals.
Pierre Franey was a French-born American chef, best known for his televised cooking shows and his "60 Minute Gourmet" column in The New York Times.
Jeremiah Tower is an American celebrity chef who, along with Alice Waters and Wolfgang Puck, has been credited with pioneering the culinary style known as California cuisine. A food lover from childhood, he had no formal culinary education before beginning his career as a chef.
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.
Satwant Singh "Sat" Bains is an English chef best known for being chef proprietor of the two-Michelin star Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms in Nottingham, England. He won the Roux Scholarship in 1999, and worked in France, before returning to the UK and opening his own restaurant. Bains was also one of the winners on the BBC show Great British Menu in 2007.
Paul Haeberlin was a French chef and restaurateur. He was the owner of Auberge de l’Ill, a classical French restaurant, which was first awarded a 3-star Michelin Rating in 1967 and continues to be one of the oldest 3-star establishments in France. His restaurant has served as a school for many of the world's premier French chefs, including Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Hubert Keller.
Michel Louis-Marie Richard was a French-born chef, formerly the owner of the restaurant Citrus in Los Angeles and Citronelle and Central in Washington, D.C. He has owned restaurants in Santa Barbara, Tokyo, Carmel, New York City, Atlantic City, Las Vegas, and Washington D.C.
Pierre Koffmann is a French professional chef. He was one of a handful of chefs in the United Kingdom to have been awarded the coveted three Michelin stars at his restaurant La Tante Claire in London. Until December 2016, he was the head chef of Koffmann's at The Berkeley hotel in Knightsbridge, London.
Gordon Hamersley is an American chef based in Boston and cookbook author. Arguably his roast chicken is his most acclaimed recipe. It was part of a meal he cooked for Julia Child in her show In Julia's Kitchen with Master Chefs. His personal trademark is his ever-present Red Sox cap.
Lydia Shire is an American Boston-based chef and restaurateur.