Chef Michael Symon cooks with soul. Growing up in a Mediterranean & Eastern European family, the Cleveland native creates boldly flavored, deeply satisfying dishes that not only reflect his heritage but the city he was raised in. Lola, Mabel’s BBQ, Roast, Bar Symon, Angeline and B Spot Burgers are all wonderful examples of not only how Michael was raised but how food shaped him. He also shares his exuberant, approachable cooking style and infectious laugh with viewers as an Iron Chef on the Food Network, Burgers, Brew & ‘Que and as ABC’s resident chef. He is also a former co-host of the Emmy-winning TV show, The Chew. Michael is the author of six award winning cookbooks, four of which have landed on The New York Times Best Seller list. When he’s not working, Michael is cooking at home, playing golf, thinking about his next tattoo, gardening in the backyard and spending time with his wife, Liz, Kyle, Krista, their granddaughter Emmy and staffy bull terrier Norman.
Since being named a Best New Chef by Food & Wine magazine in 1998, Michael and his restaurants have been awarded numerous honors: in 2000 Gourmet magazine chose Lola as one of “America’s Best Restaurants;” and it has been named Cleveland’s Best Restaurant on 18 occasions. In 2010, Michael was the first chef ever to host the annual Farm Aid benefit concert; Bon Appetit and Food & Wine magazines included B Spot on their list of “Top 10 Best Burger Joints;” B Spot has also won the People’s Choice Award at the SoBe Wine & Food Festival on five occasions. In 2009, Michael earned The James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes and the Detroit Free Press named Roast “Restaurant of the Year.”
Michael made his TV debut on Food Network in 1998 with appearances on Sara’s Secrets with Sara Moulton, Ready, Set, Cook and Food Nation with Bobby Flay, before being tapped to host over 100 episodes of The Melting Pot. He then went on to win season one of The Next Iron Chef on Food Network in 2008, earning him a permanent spot on the roster of esteemed Iron Chefs.
Throughout 2010, Michael appeared on four Food Network/Cooking Channel shows, hosting Food Feuds and Cook Like an Iron Chef, judging season three of The Next Iron Chef and competing on Iron Chef America. In January 2012, Michael’s show Symon’s Suppers, premiered on Cooking Channel and in September 2011, he joined the cast of The Chew as one of the show’s five hosts. Most recently, Michael was named resident chef of ABC, co-hosted BBQ Brawl with Bobby Flay on Food Network, and is in his eighth season of Burgers, Brew, & ‘Que on Cooking Channel.
