Michael Symon

Michael Symon, a professional restaurateur and a popular television chef, first appeared in the media in 2002 and built an increasing profile since 2005, working regularly for a number of shows including "Iron Chef America" (Food Network 2005- ), "Food Feuds" (Food Network 2010) and "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" (Food Network 2009-2011), the daily talk show "The Chew" (2011-18) on ABC and "Cook Like An Iron Chef" (2010) on the Cooking Channel. A fan of cooking meat in particular, he has also produced a number of books and magazine articles, and appeared as a guest on numerous lifestyle shows such as "The Late Show with David Letterman" (CBS 1993-15) and "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" (NBC 2009-2014). His irrepressible laughter and tongue-in-cheek cockiness, particularly in relation to the superiority of Greek food and his home state of Ohio, made him a popular TV personality as well as a noted chef. A native of Cleveland, Ohio of mixed Greek and Italian descent, Symon's first career choice was as a professional wrestler, until he broke his arm and was no longer able to compete. Taking a job at a Cleveland rib restaurant, he worked his way up through the city's dining scene - via the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY - until he and his wife Liz Shanahan opened their first restaurant Lola together in 1997. Three years later it would be named one of the best restaurants in America by Gourmet magazine, and he would subsequently open more successful restaurants around Ohio under the names Lolita, The B Spot and Bar Symon, as well as Roast in Detroit, Michigan and Parea in New York City (which later closed). Even when living in New York to work on "The Chew" opposite fellow chefs Mario Batali and Carla Hall, lifestyle guru Clinton Kelly and nutrition expert Daphne Oz, Symon maintained a home near his parents' house in Cleveland and returned to his hometown as often as possible. During the seven-year run of "The Chew," Symon also starred in the travel series "Burgers, Brew and 'Que" (Food 2015- ). In 2018, as "The Chew" was winding down, Symen returned to a reactivated "Iron Chef America."