Tom Colicchio is one of those extremely accomplished yet down-to-earth top chefs. Colicchio was born and raised in New Jersey around the home cooking of his Italian mother and grandmother. Perhaps best known as lead judge on Bravo TV's popular series Top Chef, Colicchio has been impressing people with his culinary arts abilities since the age of 17.

Colicchio's Rise to Fame Using Jacques Pepins' La Technique and La Methode to teach himself to cook, Colicchio found work at New York restaurants like The Quilted Giraffe, Mondrian, and Gotham Bar and Grill. He was soon named one of New Yorks' top 10 "Best New Chefs" by Food & Wine Magazine, the first of many awards in his career as a chef and cookbook author (check out Think Like a Chef and Craft of Cooking).