Tom Colicchio facts for kids
Colicchio at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival
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| Born | Thomas Patrick Colicchio August 15, 1962 Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S. |
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Current restaurant(s)
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Previous restaurant(s)
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Television show(s)
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Award(s) won
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Tom Colicchio (born August 15, 1962) is a famous American celebrity chef. He is well-known for being the head judge on the TV show Top Chef. Tom Colicchio also started a group of restaurants called Crafted Hospitality. He has won five James Beard Foundation Awards, which are like big awards for chefs.
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Early Life and School
Tom Colicchio was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He grew up with two brothers. His mom worked in a school lunchroom. Tom finished high school in Elizabeth in 1980.
Becoming a Chef
In the 1980s, Tom Colicchio worked as a sous-chef (a chef who helps the main chef) at a restaurant called Rakel in New York City. This helped him learn a lot about cooking.
Opening Famous Restaurants
In 1994, Tom Colicchio and his partner opened a restaurant called the Gramercy Tavern in New York City. It quickly became very popular. Later, he opened his first Craft restaurant in 2001. A year after that, he opened Craftsteak in Las Vegas.
After the sad events of September 11 attacks, Tom Colicchio helped by serving food to the rescue workers. In 2003, he started wichcraft, which is a sandwich shop. He also opened other restaurants like Colicchio & Sons and Riverpark.
Awards and Helping Others
In 2010, Tom Colicchio won the "Outstanding Chef" award from the James Beard Foundation. This is a very important award in the cooking world.
Tom Colicchio also cares a lot about helping people. He works with groups like City Harvest and Food Bank for New York City. These groups help make sure people have enough food. He has also written three cookbooks to share his recipes and cooking tips.
Tom Colicchio on TV
Tom Colicchio is most famous for being the head judge on Top Chef. He has been on the show since it started in 2006. He even won an Emmy Award in 2010 for his work as an executive producer on Top Chef.
He was also the host of another TV show called Best New Restaurant in 2015. Tom Colicchio has made guest appearances on other TV shows too, like HBO's Treme and even The Simpsons. He also appeared in an episode of the show Billions.
His Podcast
In 2020, Tom Colicchio started his own podcast called "Citizen Chef." In this podcast, he talks about food, how it connects to politics, and what it means to be a good citizen.
His Restaurants
Tom Colicchio has several restaurants that are well-known:
- Craft: You can find Craft restaurants in New York City and Los Angeles.
- Craftsteak: This restaurant is in Las Vegas.
- Small Batch: This restaurant is located in Garden City, New York.
- Temple Court: This restaurant is in New York City.
- wichcraft: His sandwich shops are in New York City.
Past Restaurants
Tom Colicchio has also been involved with many other restaurants in the past, including:
- Beachcraft in Miami Beach
- Craft in Dallas and Atlanta
- Craftbar in New York City and Atlanta
- Craftsteak at Foxwoods
- Colicchio & Sons in New York City
- Gramercy Tavern in New York City
- Riverpark in New York City
- Tom Colicchio's Heritage Steak in Las Vegas
- Topping Rose House in Bridgehampton, NY
- wichcraft in Las Vegas and San Francisco
His Family Life
Tom Colicchio is married to a filmmaker named Lori Silverbush. They got married in 2001. He has three sons: Dante, Luka Bodhi, and Mateo Lev.
