Tyler Florence (born Kevin Tyler Florence ^[1] on March 3, 1971) is a chef and television star of several Food Network shows. He graduated from the College of Culinary Arts at the Charleston, South Carolina, campus of Johnson & Wales University in 1991. He was later given an honorary doctorate from the university for his culinary success.

[edit] Professional career

[edit] Television

Florence hosted Food 911 and How to Boil Water, and currently hosts Tyler's Ultimate on the Food Network. He was featured on the ABC TV show Shaq's Big Challenge, which aired on July 17, 2007 and Momma's Boys, a reality show from Ryan Seacrest. He has also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in a nationwide Sandwich Showdown. He has appeared a number of times on The Today Show, and was featured on The View in 2008. Florence serves on the board of the national nonprofit Afterschool Alliance, an organization that works to promote and to support quality after school programs^[2]. In 2007, Florence and fellow chef Joey Altman co hosted a celebrity chef cook-off to benefit Afterschool Alliance^[3]. In 2008 Florence was named the Dean of Culinary Education at COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts.^[4]

[edit] Restaurants

Florence at one time considered opening a restaurant in New York City.^[5] In 2008 he developed a plan to open Bar Florence, in the Hotel Vertigo in San Francisco, California.^[4] In 2009 he opened a small chain of luxury kitchen supply stores in Northern California and developed three new restaurant concepts for the area: Wayfare Tavern in downtown San Francisco (formerly, Rubicon restaurant); Rotisserie & Wine, a fast food restaurant in downtown Napa, California; and with Sammy Hagar, El Paseo in downtown Mill Valley, California, an American tavern featuring ingredients only from Marin County.^[6]

[edit] Personal life

With his wife Tolan Clark, Florence has a son Hayden, (b. 2007), and a daughter Dorothy Tyler (b. 2008). In 2007, The couple moved from New York City to Mill Valley, north of San Francisco^[7] where in July, 2008 Florence opened an eponymously named retail kitchen store.^[4] Florence also has a son, Miles (b. 1996), from his previous wife, Christie Leer.^[8]

[edit] Books

• Dinner at My Place, 2008
• Stirring the Pot, 2008
• Tyler's Ultimate: Brilliant Simple Food to Make Any Time, 2006
• Eat This Book: Cooking With Global Fresh Flavors, 2005
• Real Kitchen, 2003

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Tyler Florence - Food Network Biography
• Tyler Florence Official Homepage
• Blog at San Francisco Chronicle
• Tyler Florence Recipes, Videos, and More at AOL Food