Know Ur Chef!!
Anna Olson hosts the ever-popular, all-dessert show, Sugar. Prior to her work on Sugar, Olson enjoyed the bounty of the Niagara Peninsula with a seven-year stint as pastry chef at Inn on the Twenty in Jordan, Ontario. Working with the fruits of each season, she enjoys creating desserts that are as delectable to the eye as they are to the palate.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Olson moved to Ontario, Canada as a child and grew up in Toronto. Like many chefs, Olson realized her culinary dreams in a roundabout way. Earning a degree in Political Studies from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Anna spent a brief time in banking in downtown Toronto. She spent her lunch hours wandering around the St. Lawrence Market, searching for ideas, ingredients, and inspiration for her next dinner party. Recognizing that cooking was her true passion, she enrolled in the culinary program at Johnson & Wales University in Vail, Colorado and never looked back. Upon graduation Olson travelled around the States, working in Texas and New Orleans before finding her way to Niagara.
The appeal of working in a winery restaurant – that specialized in cooking with local and seasonal ingredients – was impossible to refuse. It was here that Anna met her husband Chef Michael Olson and soon it was married bliss and fantastic meals to match! Together they wrote the Inn on the Twenty Cookbook (Whitecap Publishing, Vancouver). The couple are regular contributors to the Niagara region publication, Vines magazine.
Olson also works with a small preserving company, Niagara Presents, which helps local residents develop their fruit preserving recipes to market and sell.
Olson hosts cooking classes regularly. She and Michael enjoy travelling – and cooking along the way – including throughout Germany, California, and all across Canada.
A household name in Malaysia, Redzuawan bin Ismail, better known as Chef Wan, has been featured in various cooking programmes on television, delighting audiences with his wit and humour while demonstrating his cooking prowess.
He has appeared on Malaysian television programmes, including his very own show, Chef Wan. Currently he is hosting Citarasa Sedunia Gas Petronas, a cooking travelogue and educational documentary series. He has also hosted shows in Singapore, Australia, Norway and the United States and appears regularly as a guest chef in many other countries.
Chef Wan is an accountant by training but gave up the profession for his greater love, cooking. He earned an Associate Degree in Professional Chef Training and Hotel management from the California Culinary Academy, San Francisco, and a degree at the Ritz Hotel's Ritz Escoffier Ecole de Gastronomie Francaise, Paris.
Today he is a visiting chef to cooking schools such as the Ritz Hotel's Ritz Escoffier Ecole de Gastronomie Francaise in Paris, the Cipriani Cooking School in Venice, and other culinary academies in London, Australia and Singapore.
Chef Wan is also a food critic and writer for several magazines in Malaysia, has produced four successful cookery books and is a founding partner of Wan Creations Sdn. Bhd., a company marketing his Chef Wan range of cooking sauces and dips.
Finally, as if he didn't have enough to do, Chef Wan is also an actor. He has acted in two successful films and has appeared in comedy theatre.
It all could have been all so different though....
Scottish by birth, Gordon Ramsay was raised in England after his parents moved south to Stratford-upon-Avon. His first career break came while playing football for Oxford United where he was spotted by a Glasgow Rangers scout in a F.A. youth club match. After completing trials he was signed by the Scottish champions at the age of 15. Three years later he had given up professional football and gone back to college to complete a course in hotel management.
Ramsay moved to London, where he joined Marco Pierre White in the early days of Harvey’s in Wandsworth. After a couple of years Ramsay’s moved to Le Gavroche to work alongside Albert Roux. This was followed by three years of working in France in the kitchens of Guy Savoy and Joël Robuchon.
In October 1993, Ramsay became chef of the newly opened Aubergine, where he won many accolades, including two Michelin stars within three years of opening.
Ramsay’s first book, “Passion for Flavour,” was published in October 1996. His second book, “Passion for Seafood,” was published in May 1999. “A Chef for all Seasons” was published in September 2000, followed by “Just Desserts” in September 2001 and “Secrets” in 2003.
In 1998 at the age of 31, Ramsay set up his first wholly owned restaurant, Gordon Ramsay, on the former site of La Tante Claire in Chelsea. A year later he opened Pétrus with his protegé Marcus Wareing as Chef Patron, in St. James’s. Within seven months it had won a Michelin star. In October 2001 Gordon opened Gordon Ramsay at Claridges which gained a Michelin star in 2003.
In June 2000 Ramsay won The Chef of the Year Award at the Cateys. His restaurant Gordon Ramsay was voted the Top Restaurant in the U.K. with a score of 28 in the 2001 London Zagat Survey, and was also named as the best Fine Dining Restaurant in the 2001 Harden’s Guide. These ratings continued in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. On January 19, 2001, the original Gordon Ramsay restaurant gained its third Michelin star in the Great Britain & Ireland Red Guide.
Gordon Ramsay Holdings Limited took over the whole of the food and beverage operation at The Connaught Hotel in October 2002 and installed chef Angela Hartnett whose restaurant MENU won its first Michelin star In January 2004.
In 2003 Gordon Ramsay Holdings re-launched The Savoy Grill with Marcus Wareing. The restaurant achieved its first Michelin star in 2004. This was followed with the opening of Boxwood Café at The Berkeley alongside the Michelin star Pétrus, which had moved from St. James’s. Finally, Banquette launched at The Savoy in December 2003.
In May 2004, Ramsay headed “Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares,” a series of four one-hour programs, which was awarded a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts). The show, which saw Ramsay attempt to rescue restaurants around the country in need of immediate assistance, was launched simultaneously with Ramsay’s recipe book “Gordon Ramsay Kitchen Heaven.” This was followed by ITV’s “Hell’s Kitchen,” where Ramsay was given two weeks to train celebrities into Michelin-star chefs.
2005 saw a second series of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and was followed by the very successful US version of Hell's Kitchen. November brought the debut of The F-Word, a high-octane food show with cooking, food campaigns and celebrity guests. All the action was set against the backdrop of a full working kitchen and over the course of the show Gordon and his brigade prepared a three-course menu for diners.
Ramsay's sixth book, “Gordon Ramsay Makes it Easy,” came out in May 2005. Ramsay also launched his eighth restaurant, Maze, in London’s Grosvenor Square alongside Head Chef Jason Atherton. Winner of a host of awards, the acclaimed restaurant offers a flexible menu focusing on French Cuisine with Asian influences.
In July 2005, Ramsay opened his first restaurant in Japan at The Conrad Tokyo, the city’s newest luxury hotel with Head Chef Andrew Cook heading the kitchen. Topping off an extraordinary year, Ramsay was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in the New Year’s Honours list.
In 2006, Ramsay produced a third series of Kitchen Nightmares, a second series of the US Hell's Kitchen and a second series of The F-Word. All three series received high ratings and further boosted Gordon’s stature as a top chef.
In November 2006 Gordon made his stateside debut with the opening of Gordon Ramsay at The London.
The summer of 2007 saw the publication of Gordon Ramsay’s Fast Food which is Gordon’s eighth cookbook and follows the success of Gordon Ramsay's Sunday Lunch. In it, Gordon shows readers how to prepare great tasting, real fast food in less time than it would take to have a take away delivered, taking its cue from the latest BAFTA nominated series of Channel 4’s hit food show, The F Word. Fast Food shows Gordon at his most compelling as he creates outstanding dishes which are not only fast but fresher and healthier than ever before.
2008 sees many more exciting projects for the group with the launch of Gordon Ramsay at The London, West Hollywood and the opening of a restaurant at the newly built Heathrow, Terminal 5.
James "Jamie" Trevor Oliver was born in May 1975, and grew up in Clavering, Essex, where his parents owned a pub-restaurant, The Cricketers. From an early age Oliver helped in the pub kitchen; by the time he was 11, he was adept at vegetable preparation and could chop "like a demon".
In 1989, Oliver formed the band Scarlet Division with friend Leigh Haggerwood, in which he was the drummer. At age 16, he attended Westminster Catering College and then studied in France, before returning to London to work as head pastry chef for Antonio Carluccio at The Neal Street Restaurant.
After The Neal Street Restaurant, Oliver worked for Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers at the River Café for three and a half years; Oliver credits Gray and Rogers with teaching him to create the fresh and simple food which would become his signature. When the producer, Patricia Llewellyn, arrived to film "An Italian Christmas" at the River Cafe, she spotted Oliver. Llewellyn already had a proven eye for culinary talent as it was she who recognised that Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson-Wright would gel together, and now she was looking for someone who could cook, yet whose image would be different from the the stars of The Two Fat Ladies. She put Oliver in front of a camera and told him to stay natural, the result of which was the cookery programme, The Naked Chef. Two highly successful seasons of "The Naked Chef" were filmed in 1998 and 1999. The popular series brought Oliver worldwide fame, and more television programmes and book deals followed. As of 2007, Oliver had seven additional television series and ten books to his name.
In 2005 Jamie Oliver received the prestigious Beacon Fellowship Prize for his contribution to disadvantaged young people, offering training and practical experience in the catering industry.
He has appeared on Malaysian television programmes, including his very own show, Chef Wan. Currently he is hosting Citarasa Sedunia Gas Petronas, a cooking travelogue and educational documentary series. He has also hosted shows in Singapore, Australia, Norway and the United States and appears regularly as a guest chef in many other countries.
Chef Wan is an accountant by training but gave up the profession for his greater love, cooking. He earned an Associate Degree in Professional Chef Training and Hotel management from the California Culinary Academy, San Francisco, and a degree at the Ritz Hotel's Ritz Escoffier Ecole de Gastronomie Francaise, Paris.
Today he is a visiting chef to cooking schools such as the Ritz Hotel's Ritz Escoffier Ecole de Gastronomie Francaise in Paris, the Cipriani Cooking School in Venice, and other culinary academies in London, Australia and Singapore.
Chef Wan is also a food critic and writer for several magazines in Malaysia, has produced four successful cookery books and is a founding partner of Wan Creations Sdn. Bhd., a company marketing his Chef Wan range of cooking sauces and dips.
Finally, as if he didn't have enough to do, Chef Wan is also an actor. He has acted in two successful films and has appeared in comedy theatre.
It all could have been all so different though....Scottish by birth, Gordon Ramsay was raised in England after his parents moved south to Stratford-upon-Avon. His first career break came while playing football for Oxford United where he was spotted by a Glasgow Rangers scout in a F.A. youth club match. After completing trials he was signed by the Scottish champions at the age of 15. Three years later he had given up professional football and gone back to college to complete a course in hotel management.
Ramsay moved to London, where he joined Marco Pierre White in the early days of Harvey’s in Wandsworth. After a couple of years Ramsay’s moved to Le Gavroche to work alongside Albert Roux. This was followed by three years of working in France in the kitchens of Guy Savoy and Joël Robuchon.
In October 1993, Ramsay became chef of the newly opened Aubergine, where he won many accolades, including two Michelin stars within three years of opening.
Ramsay’s first book, “Passion for Flavour,” was published in October 1996. His second book, “Passion for Seafood,” was published in May 1999. “A Chef for all Seasons” was published in September 2000, followed by “Just Desserts” in September 2001 and “Secrets” in 2003.
In 1998 at the age of 31, Ramsay set up his first wholly owned restaurant, Gordon Ramsay, on the former site of La Tante Claire in Chelsea. A year later he opened Pétrus with his protegé Marcus Wareing as Chef Patron, in St. James’s. Within seven months it had won a Michelin star. In October 2001 Gordon opened Gordon Ramsay at Claridges which gained a Michelin star in 2003.
In June 2000 Ramsay won The Chef of the Year Award at the Cateys. His restaurant Gordon Ramsay was voted the Top Restaurant in the U.K. with a score of 28 in the 2001 London Zagat Survey, and was also named as the best Fine Dining Restaurant in the 2001 Harden’s Guide. These ratings continued in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. On January 19, 2001, the original Gordon Ramsay restaurant gained its third Michelin star in the Great Britain & Ireland Red Guide.
Gordon Ramsay Holdings Limited took over the whole of the food and beverage operation at The Connaught Hotel in October 2002 and installed chef Angela Hartnett whose restaurant MENU won its first Michelin star In January 2004.
In 2003 Gordon Ramsay Holdings re-launched The Savoy Grill with Marcus Wareing. The restaurant achieved its first Michelin star in 2004. This was followed with the opening of Boxwood Café at The Berkeley alongside the Michelin star Pétrus, which had moved from St. James’s. Finally, Banquette launched at The Savoy in December 2003.
In May 2004, Ramsay headed “Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares,” a series of four one-hour programs, which was awarded a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts). The show, which saw Ramsay attempt to rescue restaurants around the country in need of immediate assistance, was launched simultaneously with Ramsay’s recipe book “Gordon Ramsay Kitchen Heaven.” This was followed by ITV’s “Hell’s Kitchen,” where Ramsay was given two weeks to train celebrities into Michelin-star chefs.
2005 saw a second series of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and was followed by the very successful US version of Hell's Kitchen. November brought the debut of The F-Word, a high-octane food show with cooking, food campaigns and celebrity guests. All the action was set against the backdrop of a full working kitchen and over the course of the show Gordon and his brigade prepared a three-course menu for diners.
Ramsay's sixth book, “Gordon Ramsay Makes it Easy,” came out in May 2005. Ramsay also launched his eighth restaurant, Maze, in London’s Grosvenor Square alongside Head Chef Jason Atherton. Winner of a host of awards, the acclaimed restaurant offers a flexible menu focusing on French Cuisine with Asian influences.
In July 2005, Ramsay opened his first restaurant in Japan at The Conrad Tokyo, the city’s newest luxury hotel with Head Chef Andrew Cook heading the kitchen. Topping off an extraordinary year, Ramsay was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in the New Year’s Honours list.
In 2006, Ramsay produced a third series of Kitchen Nightmares, a second series of the US Hell's Kitchen and a second series of The F-Word. All three series received high ratings and further boosted Gordon’s stature as a top chef.
In November 2006 Gordon made his stateside debut with the opening of Gordon Ramsay at The London.
The summer of 2007 saw the publication of Gordon Ramsay’s Fast Food which is Gordon’s eighth cookbook and follows the success of Gordon Ramsay's Sunday Lunch. In it, Gordon shows readers how to prepare great tasting, real fast food in less time than it would take to have a take away delivered, taking its cue from the latest BAFTA nominated series of Channel 4’s hit food show, The F Word. Fast Food shows Gordon at his most compelling as he creates outstanding dishes which are not only fast but fresher and healthier than ever before.
2008 sees many more exciting projects for the group with the launch of Gordon Ramsay at The London, West Hollywood and the opening of a restaurant at the newly built Heathrow, Terminal 5.
James "Jamie" Trevor Oliver was born in May 1975, and grew up in Clavering, Essex, where his parents owned a pub-restaurant, The Cricketers. From an early age Oliver helped in the pub kitchen; by the time he was 11, he was adept at vegetable preparation and could chop "like a demon".In 1989, Oliver formed the band Scarlet Division with friend Leigh Haggerwood, in which he was the drummer. At age 16, he attended Westminster Catering College and then studied in France, before returning to London to work as head pastry chef for Antonio Carluccio at The Neal Street Restaurant.
After The Neal Street Restaurant, Oliver worked for Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers at the River Café for three and a half years; Oliver credits Gray and Rogers with teaching him to create the fresh and simple food which would become his signature. When the producer, Patricia Llewellyn, arrived to film "An Italian Christmas" at the River Cafe, she spotted Oliver. Llewellyn already had a proven eye for culinary talent as it was she who recognised that Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson-Wright would gel together, and now she was looking for someone who could cook, yet whose image would be different from the the stars of The Two Fat Ladies. She put Oliver in front of a camera and told him to stay natural, the result of which was the cookery programme, The Naked Chef. Two highly successful seasons of "The Naked Chef" were filmed in 1998 and 1999. The popular series brought Oliver worldwide fame, and more television programmes and book deals followed. As of 2007, Oliver had seven additional television series and ten books to his name.
In 2005 Jamie Oliver received the prestigious Beacon Fellowship Prize for his contribution to disadvantaged young people, offering training and practical experience in the catering industry.
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