Gail Simmons
Culinary Expert, Food Writer, TV Personality
Gail Simmons is a trained culinary expert, food writer, and dynamic television personality. Since the show’s inception, she has lent her expertise as permanent judge on Bravo’s Emmy-winning series Top Chef, now entering its 21st season.
Simmons was most recently co-host of The Good Dish, the syndicated series offering delicious recipes, real-life wisdom, and conversations on the topics of the day, and was formerly host of Top Chef Amateurs and Iron Chef Canada. She was head critic on Top Chef Masters, host of Top Chef Just Desserts, and co-host of The Feed, which aired in 2014 on FYI.
Simmons’ first cookbook, Bringing It Home: Favorite Recipes from a Life of Adventurous Eating, was released by Grand Central Publishing in 2017. Nominated for an IACP award for Best General Cookbook, it features recipes inspired by Simmons’ world travels—all made with accessible ingredients and with smart, simple techniques for successful family meals and easy entertaining. Her memoir, Talking With My Mouth Full, was published by Hyperion in 2012.
From 2004 to 2019, Simmons served as Special Projects Director at Food & Wine magazine, writing a monthly column, creating cooking videos, and working closely with the country’s top culinary talent. During her tenure, she oversaw the annual FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen, America’s premier culinary event. Prior to working at Food & Wine, Simmon’s was the special events manager for Chef Daniel Boulud’s restaurant empire.
Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Simmons moved to New York City in 1999 to attend culinary school at what is now the Institute of Culinary Education. She then trained in the kitchens of legendary Le Cirque 2000 and groundbreaking Vong restaurants, and worked as the assistant to Vogue magazine’s esteemed food critic, Jeffrey Steingarten. Throughout her career, Simmons has contributed to several books, including It Must’ve Been Something I Ate by Steingarten, Chef Daniel Boulud: Cooking in New York City and The New American Chef, by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page.
In 2014, Simmons and her business partner Samantha Hanks, founded Bumble Pie Productions, an original content company dedicated to discovering and promoting new female voices in the food and lifestyle space. Their first series “Star Plates”—a collaboration with Drew Barrymore’s Flower Films and Authentic Entertainment—premiered in 2016 on the Food Network.
Simmons makes frequent television appearances on NBC’s TODAY, ABC’s Good Morning America, CBS’s The View, and the Tamron Hall Show, among others. She has been featured in publications such as People, New York Magazine, Women’s Health, Travel + Leisure, GQ, Entertainment Weekly, US Weekly, Los Angeles Times, and was named the #1 Reality TV Judge in America by the New York Post. Along with her appearances at the FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen, she makes regular appearances at the nation’s foremost culinary festivals, including BottleRock, the Austin Food & Wine Festival and Charleston Wine & Food Festival.
In 2013, Simmons was appointed Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Babson College, a mentoring role where she worked with student entrepreneurs, helping them develop food-related social enterprises. In 2016, she received the Award of Excellence by Spoons Across America, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating children about the benefits of healthy eating. She is an active board member and supporter of City Harvest, Hot Bread Kitchen, Common Threads, and the newest Global Ambassador for Children in Conflict, an international organization committed to protecting, educating and providing critical aid for the world’s most vulnerable children affected by war.
Simmons lives in New York City with her husband, Jeremy, and their two children, Dahlia and Kole.
Simmons was most recently co-host of The Good Dish, the syndicated series offering delicious recipes, real-life wisdom, and conversations on the topics of the day, and was formerly host of Top Chef Amateurs and Iron Chef Canada. She was head critic on Top Chef Masters, host of Top Chef Just Desserts, and co-host of The Feed, which aired in 2014 on FYI.
Simmons’ first cookbook, Bringing It Home: Favorite Recipes from a Life of Adventurous Eating, was released by Grand Central Publishing in 2017. Nominated for an IACP award for Best General Cookbook, it features recipes inspired by Simmons’ world travels—all made with accessible ingredients and with smart, simple techniques for successful family meals and easy entertaining. Her memoir, Talking With My Mouth Full, was published by Hyperion in 2012.
From 2004 to 2019, Simmons served as Special Projects Director at Food & Wine magazine, writing a monthly column, creating cooking videos, and working closely with the country’s top culinary talent. During her tenure, she oversaw the annual FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen, America’s premier culinary event. Prior to working at Food & Wine, Simmon’s was the special events manager for Chef Daniel Boulud’s restaurant empire.
Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Simmons moved to New York City in 1999 to attend culinary school at what is now the Institute of Culinary Education. She then trained in the kitchens of legendary Le Cirque 2000 and groundbreaking Vong restaurants, and worked as the assistant to Vogue magazine’s esteemed food critic, Jeffrey Steingarten. Throughout her career, Simmons has contributed to several books, including It Must’ve Been Something I Ate by Steingarten, Chef Daniel Boulud: Cooking in New York City and The New American Chef, by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page.
In 2014, Simmons and her business partner Samantha Hanks, founded Bumble Pie Productions, an original content company dedicated to discovering and promoting new female voices in the food and lifestyle space. Their first series “Star Plates”—a collaboration with Drew Barrymore’s Flower Films and Authentic Entertainment—premiered in 2016 on the Food Network.
Simmons makes frequent television appearances on NBC’s TODAY, ABC’s Good Morning America, CBS’s The View, and the Tamron Hall Show, among others. She has been featured in publications such as People, New York Magazine, Women’s Health, Travel + Leisure, GQ, Entertainment Weekly, US Weekly, Los Angeles Times, and was named the #1 Reality TV Judge in America by the New York Post. Along with her appearances at the FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen, she makes regular appearances at the nation’s foremost culinary festivals, including BottleRock, the Austin Food & Wine Festival and Charleston Wine & Food Festival.
In 2013, Simmons was appointed Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Babson College, a mentoring role where she worked with student entrepreneurs, helping them develop food-related social enterprises. In 2016, she received the Award of Excellence by Spoons Across America, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating children about the benefits of healthy eating. She is an active board member and supporter of City Harvest, Hot Bread Kitchen, Common Threads, and the newest Global Ambassador for Children in Conflict, an international organization committed to protecting, educating and providing critical aid for the world’s most vulnerable children affected by war.
Simmons lives in New York City with her husband, Jeremy, and their two children, Dahlia and Kole.
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