Richard Blais Biography – Richard Blais Wiki
Richard Blais is an American chef, restaurateur, television personality, and author originally from New York. He was on the reality show cooking show Top Chef and is known for his take on classic American cuisine. He became the runner-up for the fourth season of Top Chef and made his way back several seasons later and became the winner of Top Chef: All-Stars.
A native New Yorker, in 2000 he moved to Atlanta, Georgia to run his own restaurant, Fishbone. At first, he was not satisfied with traditionally Southern ingredients but found ways to elevate them in his own style. He founded Trail Blais, a creative culinary company that has consulted on, designed and operated some of Atlanta’s most popular eateries. He was a recurring judge in seasons 12 and 13, and currently on Season 18, Top Chef: Portland.
In July 2011, he 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, an effort to make a simplified approach to adventurous cooking and offer new flavor combinations for home cooks to reinvent classic dishes. The book (Try This at Home) was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award 2014 in the category of Cookbook: General Cooking. He later opened Juniper & Ivy with Michael Rosen in San Diego, California, his first West Coast venture, where he showcases an innovative approach to California cuisine. He and Michael also opened Crack Shack, a fried chicken fine-casual concept, where the menu is built around chicken and eggs. Crack Shack has multiple locations in Southern California and Las Vegas.
On May 16, 2017, he published his second cookbook, So Good: 100 Recipes from My Kitchen to Yours, which features 100 elevated traditional recipes designed for the home cook. In the same year, he also started hosting a weekly podcast about the culinary industry called Starving For Attention. In 2020, together with 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.
He is a regular on the Food Network, with recurring appearances on Guy’s Grocery Games as a judge, 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 franchise. In 2015, he hosted HLN’s “Cook Your Ass Off,” a transformational culinary contest that focused on healthy cooking competition. In 2017 he became the host of “Man v. Master,” a culinary competition on the FYI Network. He has also featured 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. He has a short role in the 2016 feature film, Why Him?, starring James Franco and Bryan Cranston. In 2018, Blais was a guest judge on Sugar Rush.
In November 2011, he ran the ING New York City marathon for Alliance for a Healthier Generation. It was his first marathon, and he completed it in 4:31:54. He has since run four other New York City marathons. In November 2017, he ran the TCS New York City Marathon for Room to Read. In 1982 as a pitcher for his “Franks Pizza” Little League team, Richard came in to pitch the final playoff game of the season with his team down by 2 runs. He managed to no-hit the mighty “Sunoco” team for the next 5 innings as his squad scored 3 runs to win the game. His first cooking job was in a McDonald’s on Long Island, where he learned the basics of working in a kitchen. Coming from a humble beginning, he dreamed of reinventing himself as a sophisticated Manhattanite. After moving on to a couple of upscale restaurants while in college, he received the 2-year AOS in culinary arts from The Culinary Institute of America. After graduation, he was invited to complete a fellowship in the fish kitchen. He has studied under chefs Thomas Keller at The French Laundry, Daniel Boulud, and Ferran Adrià. He also trained at restaurants Chez Panisse and elBulli.
Richard Blais Age
He was born on February 12, 1972, in Uniondale, New York, United States.
Richard Blais Wife
Since 2006, he has been married to his wife, Jazmin Blais.
Richard Blais Children
He is a father of two daughters. His children are Riley Maddox Blais and Embry Lotus Blais.
Richard Blais Family
He was born in Uniondale, New York, United States. While he was in his second grade, he was adopted by his stepfather.
Richard Blais Instagram
He is active on his Instagram handle @richardblais.
