Gail Simmons, a trained culinary expert, food writer, and television personality, has been a permanent judge on BRAVO’s Emmy-winning Top Chef since 2006. She co-hosted The Good Dish, sharing recipes and insights, and previously hosted Top Chef Amateurs and Iron Chef Canada, bringing her culinary expertise and engaging presence to each show.
Kevin Sloan, executive chef for the Pabst Theater Group for 14 years, leads menus for artists at its six venues, including Pabst Theater and Riverside Theater. Previously, he was chef/owner of two celebrated Milwaukee restaurants. He began his career cooking in New Mexico while earning his culinary degree.
Chef Gerald, the first Black man to earn a Michelin Star (2022), rose from dishwasher to Executive Chef at Troon. He led acclaimed restaurants, competed on Top Chef and Tournament of Champions, headlined at James Beard House, and contributed to Food & Wine Magazine. He is also a level two WSET Sommelier.
Hailed as one of the country’s “most creative fusion practitioners,” Ana Sortun was named the Best Chef Northeast by the James Beard Foundation in 2005 and has been lauded as “a culinary genius” by Boston Magazine and in Saveur. In 2015, 2016 and 2017 she was a James Beard semi-finalist for Outstanding Chef.
Susan Spicer began her career in New Orleans in 1979, later training in Paris and traveling through Europe and California. In 1990, she opened Bayona, earning national acclaim and a 1993 James Beard Best Chef Southeast award. She published Crescent City Cooking in 2007, and later opened Mondo and Rosedale, showcasing her Louisiana home cooking style.
Jason Stanhope, Chef and Partner at Sullivan’s Fish Camp on Sullivan’s Island, Charleston, trained in San Francisco and Peru before joining Chef Debbie Gold in Kansas. At FIG from 2008, he became Executive Chef in 2012 and earned the 2015 James Beard Award. In 2025, he called Sullivan’s Fish Camp “a homecoming,” celebrating Lowcountry farmers and fishermen.
Molly is the award-winning author of All About Braising, All About Roasting, and All About Dinner, as well as several other books. She is also the co-host of the Everything Cookbooks podcast.