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Michael Symon (born September 19, 1969, in Cleveland, Ohio)[1] is a James Beard Foundation Award-winning chef[2], an Iron Chef, restaurateur, and author. He is credited as helping to "save" the restaurant scene in downtown Cleveland.[3] He is the chef and owner of three restaurants: Lola and Lolita, both in Cleveland, and Michael Symon's Roast in Detroit. Additionally, he owns a brasserie and bar named Bar Symon in Avon Lake, Ohio. He most recently opened The B Spot, a casual burger and bratwurst eatery, on Cleveland's east side. He has contributed to Bon Appétit, Esquire, Food Arts, Gourmet, Saveur and O, The Oprah Magazine.
[edit] Biography[edit] Early life and career Symon is of Greek ancestry on his mother's side of the family.[4][5] He was raised in North Olmsted, Ohio, and attended St. Richard School in North Olmsted, and St. Edward High School in Lakewood. A wrestler, he broke an arm during practice and was unable to continue competing. He took a part time job at Gepetto's Ribs on Warren Rd. as a cook.[6] He graduated from St. Edward in 1987. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, in 1990, Symon worked the Cleveland restaurant scene, working at Player's, a Mediterranean restaurant in Lakewood. In 1993, he moved to Piccolo Mondo and he was brought aboard as chef, developing a small yet devoted following. He subsequently moved to Caxton Cafe. Symon describes his cooking as "meat-centric."[5] [edit] RestaurantsIn February 1997, Michael and his then-fiancée (now wife), Liz Shanahan, opened Lola in Cleveland's trendy Tremont neighborhood. It is named after his aunt. The restaurant garnered rave reviews and was named one of Americas Best Restaurants in Gourmet Magazine (October 2000 issue).[7] In 2005, he converted Lola into Lolita,[8] and reopened Lola in downtown Cleveland the next year. On April 15, 2006, Symon open his third restaurant, Parea, which in Greek means "a group of friends" or "company," in New York City.[9] The restaurant, which featured upscale Greek food and was located on East 20th Street near Park Avenue, was run by Jonathon Sawyer, who tutored under Symon at Lolita. It was also located next door to renowned Gramercy Tavern. Symon partnered with Telly Hatzigeorgiou, George Pantelidis, and Peter J. Pappas.[10] Although he gave the food a 2-stars rating (very good), New York Times food critic Frank Bruni noted that the sound level reached "piercing heights."[11] By many accounts, the food was good, as the restaurant was even listed on "100 Tastes to Try in ’07" in Food & Wine Magazine.[12] However, it was up against a cynical New York restaurant scene where his flavors were consider not "vibrant" enough, and was chided that it "might improve after Mr. Symon gets more experience in the New York restaurant world." [13] It would close in 2007, thereafter Stavros Aktipis would acquire it and renamed the restaurant Kellari's Parea. He opened a restaurant named Michael Symon's Roast at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit, Michigan in the fall of 2008.[5] Roast was quickly named the 2009 Restaurant of the Year by the Detroit Free Press.[14] He opened a new restaurant on July 1, 2009, called Bar Symon located in Avon Lake, Ohio featuring casual concepts on tavern food. Sooner after, he opened a similarly themed restaurant named The B Spot on Cleveland's east side. In October 2009, the Cleveland Cavaliers announced that Symon will contribute menu items to be prepared by foodservice firm Aramark at the Quicken Loans Arena. Two existing restaurants will be renamed after Symon's bar-bistros, Bar Symon and The B-Spot, as well as making some of his signature dishes available as suite catering offerings.[15] [edit] Awards and honorsIn 1995, The Plain Dealer's Sunday Magazine named Symon as Cleveland’s hottest chef.[3] He was named a National Rising Star by Restaurant Hospitality Magazine (May 1997 issue). [7] In 1998, he was named one of the Ten Best New Chefs in America by Food & Wine Magazine (July 1998 issue).[16] In 2006, Symon was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award in the "Best Chef Great Lakes" category. He would be nominated again in 2009, finally winning the prestigious award. It was one of the few moments when Symon was "speechless." In 2007, Cleveland Magazine named him Best Local Chef for Lola and Lolita. [edit] Media and appearancesHe works as a "spokeschef," representing cookware companies Vita-Mix and Calphalon, appearing housewares shows and other demonstration events.[17] He also appears on behalf of Food Network. During the summer of 2009, he promoted the Food Network's video game named Cook Or Be Cooked for Nintendo Wii, which was released on November 3, 2009.[18] [19] [edit] TelevisionSymon was one of the rotating hosts of Food Network's show Melting Pot, and appeared on Sara's Secrets with Sara Moulton, Ready, Set, Cook and FoodNation with Bobby Flay. In 2005, he appeared on Iron Chef America, where he lost to Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto in Battle Asparagus.[20] On August 27, 2007, Symon appeared in the Cleveland episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. While competing in The Next Iron Chef, he reported on his experiences for Fortune, posted on CNN Money.[21] On November 11, 2007, after a head-to-head match against John Besh, he was officially named "The Next Iron Chef". On November 18, 2007, Symon won his first battle on Iron Chef America.[22] In the months following The Next Iron Chef, he made the rounds on national network and syndicated programs, including The View [23] and the Rachael Ray Show. [24] On April 21, 2008, the Food Network announced that Symon would take over as host of Dinner: Impossible, the network's third most popular show. [25] However, he hosted the show for ten episodes until host Robert Irvine was reinstated. Although it wasn't announced publicly, Symon knew it was a temporary gig "from the start."[26] He also appeared along with several other Food Network stars on Dear Food Network: Thanksgiving Disasters, a program dealing with dinner mishaps which first aired November 17, 2008.[27] [edit] BooksSymon was featured in fellow Clevelander Michael Ruhlman's 2001 book, The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection. The second part of the three-part book focuses on Symon's quest for culinary perfection. In 2009, Symon collaborated with Ruhlman to write his first cookbook, Michael Symon's Live to Cook: Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen. The foreword is written by fellow Iron Chef Bobby Flay. It is being published by Clarkson Potter and is scheduled to be released on November 3, 2009 - ISBN 978-0307453655. To compliment the book "Live to Cook," a reader created a blog titled Live to Cook...at Home [4] to document as he attempts to cook his way through the book. [edit] References
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