Todd English

{{Infobox person

| name = Todd English

| image = Todd English at James Beard Awards 2010.jpg

| alt =

| caption = English interviewed at the James Beard Foundation Awards 2010

| birth_name = William Todd English

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1960|08|29}}

| birth_place = Amarillo, Texas

| death_date =

| death_place =

| alma_mater = Culinary Institute of America

| known_for =

| occupation = Restaurateur, celebrity chef, writer

| spouse = Olivia Disch English (divorced)

| children = 3

}}

William Todd English (born August 29, 1960) is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, author, and television personality, based in Boston, Massachusetts. He hosted the TV cooking show, Food Trip with Todd English, on PBS. In 2005 he was a judge on the PBS show Cooking Under Fire.

His life and career received a chapter in Super Chef by Juliette Rossant, who had written previously about English for the Forbes Celebrity 100 list.{{cite magazine|last=Rossant|first=Juliette|title=Todd English|magazine=Forbes|url=https://www.forbes.com/finance/lists/53/2001/LIR.jhtml?passListId=53&passYear=2001&passListType=Person&uniqueId=KC2G&datatype=Person|date=March 19, 2001|access-date=May 30, 2011}} Todd English also works as lead chef for Delta Air Lines (US).{{cite news|last1=Wharton|first1=Rachel|title=Plane chow gets an upgrade|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/eats/delta-plane-chow-upgrade-chef-todd-english-article-1.228929|access-date=21 January 2018|newspaper=NY Daily News|date=October 5, 2007}}

Early life and career

English was born in Amarillo, Texas, grew up in Sandy Springs, Georgia, and later Branford, Connecticut.Cf. Rossant (2004), p.91 He matriculated at Guilford College in North Carolina on a baseball scholarship but quit and entered the Culinary Institute of America in 1978 and graduated in 1982.Cf. Rossant (2004), p.95Atkinson, Kim, [http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/being_todd_english/ "Being Todd English"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101230232328/http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/being_todd_english/ |date=December 30, 2010 }}, Boston magazine, May 2006

He worked under Jean-Jacques Rachou at New York's La Cote Basque, and then moved to Italy to work at several restaurants there.[http://www.greatchefs.com/great-chefs/todd-english/ "Great Chef Todd English"], greatchefs.com He returned to the United States at age 25 and served as the executive chef of the Italian restaurant Michela's in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for three years, before opening the original Olives restaurant in 1989.

Personal life

English was married to Olivia Disch English, his classmate at the Culinary Institute of America. The couple has since divorced; they have three children. He was engaged to Erica Wang in 2009; however, their wedding was called off.{{cite news|url=http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/item_dCYVs3irQACM2TUAUTFJOI/0|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131013109/http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/item_dCYVs3irQACM2TUAUTFJOI/0|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 31, 2013|title=Inside Todd English's canceled wedding|first=Beth|last=Landman|date=October 11, 2009|access-date=2010-02-15|newspaper=New York Post}}{{cite magazine|url=https://people.com/celebrity/why-todd-english-cancelled-his-wedding/|title=Why Todd English Cancelled His Wedding|first=Amy Elisa|last=Keith|date=October 15, 2009|access-date=2010-02-15|magazine=People Magazine}}Grace, Melissa, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120531081634/http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-01-14/gossip/17945404_1_prenuptial-pact-jilted-community-service "'Top Chef' Todd English's ex-bride, Erica Wang, must take anger management classes and do community service if she wants assault charges dropped, a judge says."], The New York Daily News, January 14, 2010.{{cite news |last1=Licata |first1=Elizabeth |title=Todd English accused of sexual harassment by waitress |url=https://www.latimes.com/food/sns-dailymeal-1856721-chef-todd-english-sexual-harassment-110517-20171105-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=November 5, 2017}}

Restaurants

=Olives=

English's first restaurant, Olives, opened in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston in April 1989. One of his employees, future restaurateur Barbara Lynch, has stated that English physically abused her during her time there.{{Cite news |last=Moskin |first=Julia |date=2024-10-10 |title=Barbara Lynch, a Top Boston Chef, Will Close All Her Restaurants |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/10/dining/boston-chef-barbara-lynch-closes-restaurants.html |access-date=2025-03-20 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} The restaurant's name is a tribute to his then-wife, Olivia. The food is "rustic Mediterranean," with a strong influence from Italian cuisine. The restaurant was named Best New Restaurant by Boston magazine and has been honored as Best Food and Top Table by Gourmet magazine. Olives is known for two signature desserts – a molten chocolate cake and a vanilla bean soufflé – which must be ordered with the main meal. The Health Department has cited Olives for sanitation discrepancies and animal waste hazards.Traverso, Amy, [http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/reconsidering_todd_english/page1 "Reconsidering Todd English"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122053325/http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/reconsidering_todd_english/page1 |date=January 22, 2011 }}, Boston magazine, March 2009

In October 1998, Olives opened in the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas; it closed in 2019.

In May 2010, Olives was closed due to damage done by a grease fire.{{cite news| url=https://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/articles/2010/05/29/olives_plagued_by_another_grease_fire/ | title = Olives plagued by another grease fire | author = Shanahan, Mark | newspaper = The Boston Globe | date = May 29, 2010 }} This was the third time the Charlestown eatery was closed due to fire damage since 2001.Shanahan, Mark; Goldstein, Meredith, [https://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/articles/2011/07/01/licensing_board_lights_the_re_under_celebrity_chef/ "Licensing Board lights the fire under celebrity chef"], The Boston Globe, July 1, 2011

In May 2012, the Charlestown Olives reopened.Shanahan, Mark; Goldstein, Meredith, [https://www.boston.com/names/2012/05/09/todd-english-says-new-and-improved-olives-set-reopen-officially/MfXghsObHldVcgATEwR3gN/story.html "Todd English says new and improved Olives set to reopen – officially"], Boston Globe, May 9, 2012

In June 2013, the Charlestown Olives closed for good.{{cite news| url = https://www.boston.com/blogs/ae/restaurants/the-restaurant-hub/2013/06/has_olives_charlestown_closed.html| title = Has Olives Charlestown Closed? [Updated] - The Restaurant Hub - Boston.com| newspaper = Boston.com}}

A second Olives was opened in 2001 at W New York - Union Square in Union Square, New York City, but was closed in 2015.{{cite news| url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/irvington-replaces-todd-englishs-olives-ny-at-the-w-union-square-hotel-1427152027 | title = Irvington Replaces Todd English's Olives NY | newspaper = The Wall Street Journal | date = March 23, 2015 }}

In February 2013, Olives opened in Mexico City. The remaining Olives are the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas, and the Ritz-Carlton Canal (hotel and resort) in Abu Dhabi.

In 2021, Olives opened in Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.{{Cite web|url=https://virginhotelslv.com/dine-and-drink/olives|title=Todd English's Olives|work=Virgin Hotels Las Vegas }}

=Figs=

Figs is the name of two pizzerias in the Boston area, one in the Beacon Hill neighborhood and another in Charlestown (now closed). Figs offers authentic Neapolitan-style pizzas with very thin crusts, served on inverted sheet pans, as well as salads and pastas. Figs won the "Hot Concept" award from Nation's Restaurant News magazine.

=Other restaurants=

English's other restaurants include:

The Beast by Todd English, at Area15 in Las Vegas, Nevada
Bonfire, a steakhouse in Boston and New York
Todd English, an alternative restaurant aboard the luxury {{RMS|Queen Mary 2}},Seven Days Aboard the Queen Mary 2, by Dwight Garner, New York Times, February 10, 2013 and {{MS|Queen Victoria}}
BlueZoo, a restaurant at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel in Orlando, Florida
Da Campo Osteria, in the Il Lugano Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, featuring views of the intracoastal waterway
Todd English, P.U.B in the Aria Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada
Todd English, P.U.B. in the Uptown Entertainment District in Birmingham, Alabama
Fig's at The Macys at the Gardens Mall, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Plaza Food Hall at the Plaza Hotel in New York City{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/18/dining/reviews/18dinbriefs.html|title=The Plaza Food Hall|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 17, 2010|last1=Moskin|first1=Julia}}
Figs at 29 Fair in Nantucket, Massachusetts
Tuscany at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut
Ember Room in New York City
Taylor Sine's Pool Noodle House
Ça Va at the Intercontinental Hotel in Times Square, New York
MXDC, a Mexican restaurant in downtown Washington, D.C.
The Food Hall, formerly Todd English Food Hall Manila or Food Hall by Todd English, in SM Aura, Taguig City, Manila, Philippines{{Cite web|url=https://www.esquiremag.ph/food-and-drink/food/todd-english-food-hall-relaunch-a1664-20190221|title = The Restaurant Formerly Known as Todd English Food Hall Has Been Revived and Refreshed}}
Flatterie
The Grill
Hook
Pound
The Pepper Club in the downtown Las Vegas Arts District

Books

English has authored or co-authored four cookbooks: The Olives Table, The Figs Table, The Olives Dessert Table, with Sally Sampson, and Cooking in Everyday English, published by Simon & Schuster and Time Home Entertainment Inc.

Net worth

As of 2020, English's net worth was $18.5 million. He was the ninth-highest-earning chef in the world.{{Cite web|url=https://tingtopten.com/2020/01/top-10-highly-earning-chefs-of-the-world-in-2020/|title=Top 10 Highly Earning Chefs of the World in 2020|last=tingtopten|date=2020-01-19|website=Ting Top Ten|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-28}}