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Richard Blais | |
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Born | |
Education | The Culinary Institute of America |
Culinary career | |
Television show(s) | |
Website | RichardBlais.net |
Richard Blais is an American chef, television personality, restaurateur, and author. He appeared on the reality show cooking show Top Chef , [1] 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 .
Blais was born in Uniondale, New York. [2] He was adopted by his stepfather in the second grade. [3] Blais' first cooking job was in a McDonald's on Long Island, where he learned the basics of working in a kitchen. [3]
Blais worked at restaurants while in college; [4] he received the 2-year AOS in culinary arts from The Culinary Institute of America. [4] After graduation, he was invited to complete a fellowship in the fish kitchen. [4] He has studied under chefs Thomas Keller at The French Laundry, [2] Daniel Boulud, and Ferran Adrià. [4] He also trained at restaurants Chez Panisse and elBulli. [2]
Blais relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, in 2000 to run his own restaurant called Fishbone. [5] Initially, he was unimpressed with traditionally Southern ingredients but found ways to use them in his own style. [5] He has founded Trail Blais, a culinary company that seeks to perform consulting, design, and operational services in Atlanta eateries.
In July 2011, Blais signed a cookbook deal with Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House. On February 26, he released his debut cookbook, Try This at Home: Recipes From My Head to Your Plate, a cookbook for home cooks to reinvent classic dishes. [5] Try This at Home was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award 2014 in the category of Cookbook: General Cooking. Blais later opened Juniper & Ivy with Michael Rosen in San Diego, California, his first West Coast venture. He and Rosen most recently opened Crack Shack, a fine-casual fried chicken concept with multiple locations in Southern California and Las Vegas. [1]
On May 16, 2017, Blais released his second cookbook, So Good: 100 Recipes from My Kitchen to Yours, which features 100 elevated traditional recipes designed for the home cook.
Also in 2017, Blais began hosting a weekly podcast about the culinary industry called Starving For Attention. [6]
In 2020, Blais and iHeartRadio launched the game-show-style podcast "Food Court with Richard Blais", which features guests including celebrity chefs, actors, writers, comedians, and other podcasters debating classic food arguments.
In 2023, Blais authored Plant Forward: 100 Bold Recipes for a Mostly Healthy Lifestyle, a plant-based diet cookbook in which dairy and meat are not abandoned entirely but the main focus is on plant dishes. [7]
In 2024, Blais has partnered with the Hyatt Regency in Scottsdale, AZ. He will debut multiple new dining experiences as part of the Scottsdale resorts $110 million dollar renovation. [8]
Blais appeared as a contestant on the 4th season of Bravo's Top Chef . He was the runner up, losing to Stephanie Izard. [9] In 2010, he competed in Top Chef: All-Stars and won the competition, earning the title of "Top Chef" by defeating Mike Isabella in the season finale, which aired on March 30, 2011. He was a recurring judge in seasons 12 and 13 and on Season 18, Top Chef: Portland.
Blais is a regular on the Food Network, with recurring appearances on Guy's Grocery Games as a judge, [2] and as a competitor, and has also hosted Food Network's Hungry Games, and Halloween Baking Championship . He competed in the second Cutthroat Kitchen: Superstar Sabotage tournament on November 4, 2015, winning his preliminary match and advancing to the finals; he had been a recurring judge on that series since season 12. He also has a recurring role as a judge in the Masterchef and Masterchef Junior franchises. In 2015, Blais was the host of HLN's "Cook Your Ass Off,", [2] a transformational culinary contest that focused on healthy cooking competition. In 2017 he became the host of "Man v. Master," [1] [2] a culinary competition on the FYI Network. Richard has also appeared on various talk shows, including The Today Show , Good Morning America , The Rachael Ray Show , The Chew , Live! with Kelly and Michael , and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon . Blais had a cameo role in the 2016 feature film, Why Him? , starring James Franco and Bryan Cranston. [1] In 2018, Blais appeared as a guest judge on Sugar Rush. [10] He was most recently a judge on Gordon Ramsay's Next Level Chef .
Blais is currently or has been involved with the following:
In November 2011, Blais ran the ING New York City marathon for Alliance for a Healthier Generation. [19] It was his first marathon, and he completed it in 4:31:54. [20] He has since run four other New York City marathons. In November 2017, Blais ran the TCS New York City Marathon for Room to Read. [21]
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Blais is married, and he and his wife have two daughters. [22]
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