Gail Simmons#Community service and board memberships
{{short description|Canadian food writer and cookbook author (born 1976)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Gail Simmons
| image = Gail Simmons 2017.jpg
| caption = Simmons at the 2017 Texas Book Festival
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1976|5|19}}{{cite web|url=http://www.biography.com/people/gail-simmons-20929371|title=Gail Simmons - Chef, Television Personality - Biography.com|work=Biography.com|publisher=A&E Networks|access-date=December 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712001816/https://www.biography.com/people/gail-simmons-20929371|archive-date=July 12, 2018|url-status=dead}}
| birth_place = Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| alma_mater = McGill University
| spouse = Jeremy Abrams (2008-present)
| occupation = Culinary expert, food writer, television personality
}}
Gail Simmons (born May 19, 1976) is a Canadian food writer and cookbook author. She has served as a permanent judge on Bravo's Emmy-winning series Top Chef since the show's inception in 2006. Simmons was previously the head critic on Top Chef Duels and host of Top Chef: Just Desserts, Bravo's pastry-focused spin-off of the Top Chef franchise. She was also the co-host of The Feed, which aired in 2014 on FYI, A+E's new lifestyle network. In addition to her work on Top Chef, Gail makes frequent television appearances on NBC's Today and ABC's Good Morning America, among others. She has been featured in such publications as New York magazine, Travel + Leisure, GQ, People, Los Angeles Times, and more.
Early life
Simmons was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to a Jewish family of Eastern European origin,{{cite web|publisher=People.com|title=Gail Simmons|access-date=14 November 2012|url=http://www.biography.com/people/gail-simmons-20929371|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712001816/https://www.biography.com/people/gail-simmons-20929371|archive-date=12 July 2018|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/top-chef-judge-gail-simmons-serving-up-just-desserts/|title = 'Top Chef' judge Gail Simmons serving up 'Just Desserts'| date=31 July 2023 }} and graduated from McGill University in Montreal, where she majored in anthropology and Spanish.{{cite web|url=http://publications.mcgill.ca/mcgillnews/2012/03/20/confessions-of-a-picky-eater/ |title=Confessions of a picky eater : McGill News |publisher=Publications.mcgill.ca |access-date=2012-10-20}} She is the daughter of Renee and Ivor Simmons and the youngest of three siblings. Her mother, Renee, was formerly a food columnist for Globe and Mail and conducted cooking classes in their home.
Career
=Early career=
She began her food journalism career writing restaurant reviews for the McGill Tribune before becoming an intern at the monthly magazine Toronto Life and later wrote for the daily National Post newspaper.{{cite web |url=http://www.mediabistro.com/articles/details.asp?aID=11069& |title=So What Do You Do, Gail Simmons, Host of Top Chef: Just Desserts? |publisher=Mediabistro |date=November 17, 2010 |first=Blake |last=Gernstetter |access-date=October 18, 2014 }}
Simmons attended the Peter Kump New York Cooking School in New York City and apprenticed at Le Cirque and Vong.{{cite web|url=http://www.yumsugar.com/580051 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103015413/http://yumsugar.com/580051 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=November 3, 2007 |title=One On One With Gail Simmons - Part 1 |publisher=Yumsugar.com |date=2007-08-30 |access-date=2010-09-21}}{{cite web|url=http://www.yumsugar.com/604280 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103015439/http://yumsugar.com/604280 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=November 3, 2007 |title=One On One With Gail Simmons - Part 2 |publisher=Yumsugar.com |date=2007-09-07 |access-date=2010-09-21}}
Simmons worked for food critic Jeffrey Steingarten as his assistant for two years at Vogue before becoming the special events manager for chef Daniel Boulud's restaurant empire for three years.
In 2004, she joined Food & Wine as special projects manager.
=''Top Chef'' franchise=
Simmons has been a judge with Top Chef since its March 8, 2006 season one premiere; she also hosted the spinoff show, Top Chef: Just Desserts, which premiered on September 15, 2010, after the seventh-season finale of Top Chef.{{cite web|publisher=Bravo.com|title=Bio: Gail Simmons|url=http://www.bravotv.com/people/gail-simmons/bio|access-date=14 November 2012}}
=Publications=
Simmons' first book, her memoir Talking With My Mouth Full: My Life as a Professional Eater, was published by Hyperion in February 2012.{{Cite book|title=Talking with my mouth full : my life as a professional eater|last=Simmons, Gail.|date = 18 August 2014|isbn=9780316331012|edition= First|location=New York|oclc=881627923}}
=Video series=
=Other media=
=Appearances=
=Community service and board memberships=
Gail actively supports Common Threads, an organization that teaches low-income children to cook wholesome, affordable meals. She was a founding member of Food & Wine’s Grow for Good Campaign to raise funds and awareness for sustainable agriculture programs in the United States. She sits on the boards of the American Institute of Wine & Food, Hot Bread Kitchen, the Institute of Culinary Education’s Alumni Committee, the Women at NBCU Advisory Board, and the food rescue organization City Harvest.
Recognition
She was selected for the 2010 Forward 50 by The Jewish Daily Forward.{{cite web|url=http://forward.com/forward-50/ |title=Forward 50 – |publisher=Forward.com |access-date=2012-10-20}}
She has been featured in such media outlets as New York Magazine, Travel + Leisure, GQ, People, TV Guide, Entertainment Weekly, and Los Angeles Times, and was named the #1 Reality TV Judge in America by The New York Post.{{when|date=November 2012}}
Personal life
Simmons married Jeremy Abrams in 2008.{{dead link|date=December 2019}} Their wedding featured a farmers' market theme and appeared in Martha Stewart's Real Weddings magazine. Simmons wore a Carolina Herrera wedding gown and her mother's veil from 42 years earlier.{{dead link|date=December 2019}} She said in 2012 she "put a big chunk of savings into his business," Audiostiles{{cite news | journal=Glamour | url = http://www.glamour.com/weddings/blogs/save-the-date/2012/02/a-proposal-story-this-glamouro.html|title=A Proposal Story: This {{sic|Glamou|rous|nolink=y}} Girl Got a Low-Key Proposal—And Loved It! (Plus, the Book You Must Put On the Top of Your Reading List!)|first= Kim |last=Fusaro|date=February 22, 2012}} which creates background music programming for the hospitality industry.{{cite news|url=http://www.learnvest.com/2012/08/10-things-you-dont-know-about-my-finances-gail-simmons/|publisher=Learnvest.com|title=10 Things You Don't Know About My Finances: Gail Simmons|first=Gabrielle |last=Karol|date= August 29, 2012}} She gave birth to their daughter Dahlia Rae on 29 December 2013. Simmons gave birth to their second child, a son named Kole Jack, on May 23, 2018.{{cite web|url=https://people.com/parents/gail-simmons-welcomes-son-kole-jack/|title=Top Chef Judge Gail Simmons Welcomes Son: 'He's a Keeper!'}}
Filmography
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;"
! colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Television |
| align="center"
! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Year ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Title ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Role ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Notes |
| 2006–present
| Top Chef | Herself |
| 2007
| At the Table with... | Herself | Episodes: "Rob Feenie" and "Daniel Boulud" |
| 2009-2013
| Herself | Judge |
| 2010
| Avec Eric | Herself | Episodes: "Catch and Cook" and "Cayman Cookout" |
| 2010-2011
| Herself | Host |
| rowspan=2|2011
| Through the Grapevine | Herself | Episode: "Checking Out Chiantis from Tuscany" |
| Top Chef Canada
| Herself | Guest judge |
| 2011-2018
| Herself | 9 episodes |
| 2012
| My Last Supper | Herself | |
| 2013
| Herself | Season 5 episode 6: "Can of Worms" |
| rowspan=2|2014
| Herself | Judge |
| Top Chef Duels
| Herself | Judge |
| 2015-2016
| Herself | Season 2 episodes 5 and 10: "Holy Moly Burgers" and "Coast to Coast Indulgences" |
| rowspan=2|2017
| Herself | Judge |
| Cooks vs. Cons
| Herself | Judge |
| 2017-2018
| Herself | Judge |
| 2018–present
| Herself | Host |
| 2021–present
| Herself | Host |
| 2021–present
| The Good Dish | Herself | Co-host |
| 2022
| Herself | Guest judge |
Published works
- {{cite book |title=Talking with My Mouth Full: My Life as a Professional Eater |first=Gail |last=Simmons |date=2011 |publisher=Hyperion |isbn=978-1401324506 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781401324506 }}
- {{cite book|title=Bringing It Home: Favorite Recipes from a Life of Adventurous Eating |first=Gail |last=Simmons |date=2017 |publisher=Grand Central Life & Style |isbn=978-1455542208 }}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Gail Simmons}}
- {{IMDb name|id=2210709}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Gail}}
Category:Canadian cookbook writers
Category:Jewish Canadian writers
Category:McGill University alumni
Category:Participants in American reality television series
Category:Canadian women food writers
Category:Canadian television personalities
Category:21st-century Canadian memoirists
Category:Canadian women memoirists