A celebrated chef turned TV personality, Tom Colicchio was born in Elizabeth, N.J., on Aug. 15, 1962, the product of Italian-American parents. When it came to cooking, he was largely self-taught, having faithfully studied under his mother and grandmother while also reading Jacques Pépin's quintessential cookbooks La Technique and La Méthode from cover to cover as a teenager.

When Colicchio was 17, his cooking debut at a hometown seafood bistro led to opportunities at major New York City restaurants such as Mondrian, where he worked as the executive chef. He later founded the highly successful Gramercy Tavern and launched a string of restaurants under his "Craft" brand, including Craftbar, Craftsteak and 'wichcraft.

Colicchio is best known as the Emmy-nominated lead judge and co-host of Bravo's hit cookery competition "Top Chef." He is also the author of several cookbooks.