Judges

Ted Allen

Ted Allen's love of food was originally inspired by his mother's Southern cooking, though he took some twists and turns before turning it into a career. He first became a journalist, which led to restaurant reviews, menu tastings, and interviews with notable chefs. After that, there was no turning back.

Allen is the host of the hit Food Network series Chopped, which goes into production on its 14th season next February. He launched his television career in 2003 as the food and wine specialist on Bravo's Queer Eye, which went on to win an Emmy Award in 2004. He was a judge for four seasons of Bravo's Top Chef and Food Network's Iron Chef America, and he frequently appears on The Best Thing I Ever Ate, another Food Network show.

His second cookbook for Clarkson-Potter, a collection of recipes and culinary epiphanies with the working title "The Kitchen Adventure," comes out in May, 2012. His first, "The Food You Want to Eat: 100 Smart, Simple Recipes" has gotten rave reviews. He has been a contributing editor to Esquire Magazine since 1997, and in 2001 he was a finalist for a National Magazine Award for an Esquire feature on male breast cancer. He also regularly contributes to Bon Appetit, Epicurious, and Food Network Magazine.

Allen not only supports DC Central Kitchen, but devotes his time and energy to several other non-profits. He is a spokesperson for Dining Out for Life, an annual fundraiser that supports AIDS service organizations, and also serves on the Culinary Council of the Food Bank for New York City.

Joan Nathan

Joan Nathan considers food through the lenses of history, culture, and tradition. She regularly contributes to The New York Times, Food Arts Magazine, and Tablet Magazine and is the author of ten award-winning cookbooks, six of which focus on Jewish cooking and two of which highlight Israeli cuisine. Her most recent book is Quiches, Kugels, and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France. Nathan's work preserves the heritage of Jewish cooking and encourages new traditions to take shape.

In 1994, Nathan's Jewish Cooking in America won both the James Beard Award and the IACP/Julia Child Cookbook of the Year Award. Eleven years later,

these awards were bestowed upon her 2005 cookbook The New American Cooking. An earlier work, An American Folklife Cookbook, was given the R.T. French Tastemaker Award in 1985.

Her culinary talents translated easily to television. In 2000 her PBS series Jewish Cooking in America with Joan Nathan was nominated for the James Beard Award for Best National Television Food Show. She has made guest appearances on many programs, including the Today show, Good Morning America, The Martha Stewart Show, and Live with Regis and Kathie Lee.

Nathan has won numerous awards for her work. In 2001 she was honored as an inductee into the James Beard Foundation's Who's Who in American Food and Beverage, and she has also received the Silver Spoon Award from Food Arts Magazine. She was the guest curator of the 2005 Smithsonian Folk Life Festival's Food Culture USA, a program which was based on the research for Nathan's The New American Cooking. In May 2011, she was awarded a Special Recognition Award from the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research for her work to preserve Jewish foodways.

In addition to her support of DC Central Kitchen, Nathan is an active board member of Martha's Table, a DC-based nonprofit which provides comprehensive support to impoverished individuals in both the short-term and long-term.

Last year, she co-chaired Sunday Suppers, an annual event in which Martha's Table and DC Central Kitchen team up to fight hunger. The dinners have raised over $200,000 for these two organizations.

The mother of three grown children, Nathan lives in Washington, DC and Martha's Vineyard with her husband, attorney Allan Gerson. For more information, please visit her website at joannathan.com.

MING TSAI

Ming Tsai's passion for food began at an early age. He spent much of his childhood in the kitchen at his parents' family-owned restaurant, Mandarin Kitchen, in Dayton, Ohio, where he grew to love cooking and eating.

His formal culinary training began the summer of his junior year of college, when he studied at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris. After college, he took a culinary world tour, studying under award-winning Pastry Chef Pierre Herme in Paris and with Sushi Master Kobayashi in Osaka, Japan. He then returned to the United States to study Hotel Administration and Hospitality Marketing at Cornell University.

In 1998, with restaurant experience and a formal education, he opened Blue Ginger in Wellesley, Massachusetts. This restaurant unites the cuisines of the East and the West, and in its first year it received three stars from the Boston Globe. In 1998 it was nominated as Best New Restaurant 1998 by the James Beard Foundation, and in 2007 it received the Ivy Award from Restaurants & Institutions. Ming was honored as Chef of the Year 1998 by Esquire Magazine in 1998, and was awarded 2002 Best Chef Northeast by the James Beard Foundation.

Ming is also the host and executive producer of the Emmy-nominated PBS series Simply Ming, gearing up to start its ninth season. Emmy Award-winning Chef Ming also hosted Food Network's East Meets West and Ming's Quest. He battled his way to victory against Bobby Flay in season one of Iron Chef America. Ming has also appeared on TODAY, Top Chef and Best Thing I Ever Ate. In addition to television, Ming is the author of four cookbooks: Blue Ginger: East Meets West Cooking with Ming Tsai, Simply Ming, Ming's Master Recipes, and Simply Ming One-Pot Meals.

Ming has dedicated himself to education and research on food allergies, and he is currently a national spokesperson for the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. He created a ground-breaking new system, first used at Blue Ginger, to protect the health of those with allergies.

Ming worked closely with Massachusetts Legislature to help write Bill S. 2701, which was recently signed into law. This groundbreaking legislation, the first of its kind in the US, requires local restaurants to comply with specific food allergy awareness guidelines.