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Helen Phillips WINNER -"The Biggest Loser" (NBC) (From Season 7)
Helen is a very outgoing, friendly and caring mom of three. She has always put her friends and family before herself, which has left her with little time to care for her own needs, including a proper diet. Helen fell into the fast food routine; it was simple and worked with her busy schedule. She was not always heavy and once the weight was gained she found herself not able to enjoy the physical activities she once loved to do. Now instead of taking a hike, she finds herself sitting on the couch watching the Travel Channel while eating ice cream. Helen says she and her husband have become each other's enablers and this only makes it harder to lose the weight. Helen and her husband keep the fridge stocked with all their favorite junk foods that she cannot resist. Helen knows she needs to be on the show to become a better role model for the people she loves, and above all, for herself. SE WON LAST YEARS "Biggest Loser - Couples" Lost 140 pounds. SEASON 8 PREMIERE TUES SEPT 15
Wolfgang Puck - Celebrity Chef
The name Wolfgang Puck is synonymous with the best of restaurant hospitality and the ultimate in all aspects of the culinary arts. The famous chef has built an empire that encompasses three separate Wolfgang Puck entities: Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, Wolfgang Puck Catering, and Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, Inc. Puck began cooking at his mother's side as a child. She was a chef in the Austrian town where he was born, and with her encouragement, Wolfgang began his formal training at fourteen years of age. As a young chef he worked in some of France's greatest restaurants, including Maxim's in Paris, the Hotel de Paris in Monaco, and the Michelin 3-starred L'Oustau de Baumanière in Provence. At the age of 24, Wolfgang took the advice of a friend and left Europe for the United States. His first job was at the restaurant La Tour in Indianapolis, where he worked from 1973 to 1975. Wolfgang came to Los Angeles in 1975 and very quickly garnered the attention of the Hollywood elite as chef and eventually part owner of Ma Maison in West Hollywood. His dynamic personality and culinary brilliance that bridged tradition and invention made Ma Maison a magnet for the rich and famous, with Wolfgang as the star attraction. He had an innate understanding of the potential for California cuisine, and was pivotal in its rise to national attention during the late 1970s. From Ma Maison, Wolfgang went on to create his first flagship restaurant, Spago, originally located in West Hollywood on the Sunset Strip. From its opening day in 1982 Spago was an instant success and culinary phenomenon. His early signature dishes, such as haute cuisine pizzas topped with smoked salmon and caviar, and Sonoma baby lamb with braised greens and rosemary, put him and Spago on the gourmet map, not just in Los Angeles but throughout the world. Wolfgang and Spago earned many accolades during its popular eighteen years in West Hollywood, including winning the prestigious James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Chef of the Year, twice, in 1991 and 1998, and the James Beard Foundation Award for Restaurant of the Year in 1994. Wolfgang is the only chef to have won the Outstanding Chef of the Year Award two times. In 1983, following the success of Spago, Puck went on to open Chinois on Main in Santa Monica. His early exposure to Southern California's multicultural population intrigued him, inspiring him to fuse the Asian flavors and products of Koreatown, Chinatown, and Thaitown with his French- and California-based cuisine in a fine dining setting. Chinois on Main brought diners a fresh and imaginative Asian-fusion menu that laid the groundwork for fusion cooking in America. In 1989, Wolfgang opened his third restaurant, Postrio, in the Prescott Hotel off San Francisco's Union Square. Postrio also draws upon the multi-ethnic nature of its surroundings. Its contemporary American cuisine, with its emphasis on local ingredients, continues to draw rave reviews in Northern California's highly competitive culinary market. In 1997, Wolfgang moved Spago to an elegant setting on Cañon Drive in Beverly Hills. His Beverly Hills menu blazed new ground, with a combination of updated Spago classics and newly conceived items created by the award-winning talents of Managing Partner/Executive Chef Lee Hefter and Executive Pastry Chef Sherry Yard. The seasonal menu also draws from Wolfgang's favorite childhood dishes, offering a selection of Austrian specialties such as Wienerschnitzel and Kaiserschmarren. Spago Beverly Hills recently garnered two coveted Michelin Stars, one of only three Los Angeles restaurants to achieve this accolade. In 2006, Wolfgang opened CUT, a sleek, contemporary steakhouse at the acclaimed Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons Hotel. After only one year, CUT earned a prestigious Michelin star. Wolfgang has changed the way Americans cook and eat by mixing formal French techniques and Asian- and California-influenced aesthetics with the highest quality ingredients. He also has changed the face of dining in cities throughout the nation, first in Los Angeles, then in Las Vegas, where he was the first star chef to create a contemporary fine dining restaurant, paving the way for other celebrated chefs and the city's metamorphosis into a dining destination. After opening Spago in the Forum Shops at Caesars in 1992, Wolfgang went on to open five additional restaurants including Chinois in the Forum Shops at Caesars in 1998, Postrio at The Venetian and Trattoria del Lupo in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in 1999, Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill at MGM Grand in 2004 and CUT at The Palazzo in 2008. Since 2001, Wolfgang and his Fine Dining Group have opened restaurants across the United States from Atlantic City (Wolfgang Puck American Grille at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in 2006) to Maui (Spago at the Four Seasons Resort in 2001). These also include The Source in Washington, DC (2007), Wolfgang Puck Grille at MGM Grand Detroit (2007), Spago at The Ritz Carlton, Bachelor Gulch in Colorado (2007), Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck at Reunion Tower in Dallas (2009) and Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill at L.A. Live (2009).
Joe Salerno Piccolinos - Restaurant - Bar - Brewery - Napa , CA
The upbeat cafe offers a country Italian decor. The spacious dining room gives an open and inviting style to the restaurant. Huge jars of olives and brightly preserved condiments decorate the bar that offers a multitude of wines, champagnes and beer. There is plenty of space between the 30 tables, and quiet conversations can be had even when dinner music is playing.When I was a boy, you would find Piccolino's tomato sauce simmering for hours each Sunday morning, filling our house with it's heart-warming aroma. The afternoon would find the family visiting Grandmother Emmo, and I would be enjoying meatballs for the second time that day! When I was old enough, I made Italian sausage with my father and uncles. To me, being allowed to join in this generations' old tradition marked my passage from boyhood to becoming a man. Now I was old enough to listen to the men and their stories, to celebrate life with them with a glass of my uncle Angelo's wine or my father's hard cider. And so, our holidays and celebrations always found the family around the kitchen table - eating, talking and enjoying the moment for what it was - living well ! I'll never forget exploring my grandpa Emmo's old wine cellar, or picking the Concord grapes he planted just for me. Piccolino's Italian Cafe is a celebration of my family memories and sharing them with you brings me great Joy! Always something unique... blending the best of local produce, fresh seafood and the creativity of our chefs! The menu offers something for everyone from Grandma Salerno's minestrone soup to over 12 mouth-watering pastas, chicken, steak and veal dishes that we take great pride in. Simple, classic and delicious.