In the first episode of season 2, we welcome cookbook author, food writer, and Top Chef judge Gail Simmons. Gail shares her journey into food starting as a writer in Toronto and taking on roles working for Daniel Boulud and Food & Wine Magazine. Now, you can see her serving as a judge on Bravo's Top Chef. We discuss her career and what it took to get her where she is today.

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Gail Simmons always knew what she wanted to do for a living: eat, cook and write. From writing restaurant reviews for her college newspaper, to attending culinary school and working in top kitchens, to landing a job at Food & Wine magazine, Gail has seen every side of the food industry. When Gail was invited to serve as a judge on a new show called Top Chef, she had no idea it would turn into a 17 season career on what is one of the most popular shows on TV. Today, you can also find her hosting and judging several shows and making cameos on national TV as an expert on all things food. On this episode of Live To Eat, we chat about Gail’s efforts to support restaurants during this pandemic, why her cookbook, Bringing It Home, is your perfect confinement companion, and the origin of her passion for black licorice!

The Top Chef judge talks with Hana about growing up in a food-loving household in Toronto, the unexpected twists and turns in her career, and her cookbook, Bringing It Home.

Photo Credit: Amanda Van Doorene

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Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons join host Andy Cohen. Listen to lively debates on everything from the latest drama surrounding your favorite Bravolebrities to what celebrity is making headlines that week live from the WWHL clubhouse.

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Aired on 03/15/20

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Gail Simmons is a Canadian food writer, cookbook author, and judge on BRAVO’s Top Chef whose love of food started as far back as she can recall. Since childhood, Gail regularly traveled with her family to South Africa, her father’s country of origin. On today's episode, Gail shares the myriad of ways the country sparked her early interest in the world around her and introduced her to new cuisine. The powerful sensory memories she developed have stayed with her to this day. From going on safari, to taking her first sip of wine, to witnessing apartheid, her trips to South Africa are a testament to the educational value of leaving one’s own bubble. It’s a lesson Gail now instills in her two young children, Dahlia and Kole.

Gail Simmons is an accomplished food writer and cookbook author, best known for serving as a permanent judge on the popular series Top Chef. She tells the Wall Street Journal's Veronica Dagher how she turned her life's passions into the career of her dreams.

Gail Simmons is an accomplished food writer and cookbook author, best known for serving as a permanent judge on the popular series Top Chef. She tells the Wall Street Journal's Veronica Dagher how she turned her life's passions into the career of her dreams.

Virginia Woolf famously said, ‘One cannot think well, love well and sleep well if one has not dined well.’ Our guests today would surely agree. Jeremiah Tower was the first celebrity chef and Gail Simmons is a cook book author and Top Chef Judge.

The past 15 years have seen the cooking show move from niche, daytime and educational “good for you” programming to the center of mainstream American entertainment.  This has fueled the rise of the celebrity chef and, it’s cousin, the rise of the TV chef. The beating heart of this explosion is the food competition show, principally among them “Top Chef”, but also “Hell’s Kitchen”, “Iron Chef”, “Masterchef” and a host of others which have proliferated on network and cable television dials at a dizzying pace. Enter the streaming services, and this trend has only accelerated with shows like “Nailed It” and “Sugar Rush”. And this says nothing of the kids competition shows, chief among them “Masterchef Junior”.  At the same time, food media has taken a life of its own on social media, from Instagramming cooking and dining, to “maker” videos on YouTube, to food and restaurant blogs, and on and on. In a nutshell, food and cooking are pretty much everywhere at all times, everyone is a critic, and everyone is a chef. 

On this episode of The Medium Rules, host Alan Baldachin is joined by Gail Simmons, who as a judge on Bravo’s Top Chef throughout its fifteen season run (and still going strong) has become a household name in both the United States and her native Canada.  Gail and Alan discuss the origins of Gail’s interest in cooking, her background as a trained chef and food writer, her stint working for Daniel Boulud, and of course her tenure on Top Chef where she continues to reign alongside Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio.  We also discuss how the proliferation of food media has changed the way people think about the culinary arts, and how cooking and eating have themselves been transformed.

We hope you tune in, listen and watch this chatty and informative episode with Gail.

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