Jody Williams (born c. 1963 in California)[1] is an American chef and television personality.

Chef Jody Williams
Chef Jody Williams

Biography

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Raised in California, Williams came to appreciate food service by assisting customers at her father's hot dog stand in Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco.[1] After relocating to New York City at the age of 24, she set out at 25 to prepare American cuisine across Italy with chef Kathy Casey. There, she learned about Italian cuisine. After she returned to the U.S., she became the chef of Italian restaurant Tappo (literally cork in Italian) in New York City, now closed.[1] Williams was the chef at Morandi in New York City before she left the restaurant in May 2008.[2] She was the chef of Gottino in New York City, a restaurant known for its wines, until May 2010.[3] Since September 2009, she has appeared several times as a judge on the Food Network's competition series show Chopped.

Alongside business partner and wife Rita Sodi, Williams runs Via Carota, an Italian restaurant in New York City's Greenwich Village.[4] She and Sodi also founded Commerce Inn in 2021.[5] She also operates Buvette which has locations in New York City, Paris, Tokyo[6] and London.[7] Williams is the author of a book by the name Buvette: The Pleasure of Good Food.[8]

Personal life

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Williams attended Centre College.[9]

When I Sodi first opened, Williams lived in Greenwich Village. That led to her meeting Rita and they married in 2015.[6]

Awards and honors

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Williams won the 2019 James Beard Award for Best Chef in New York City.[10]

In 2013, opening Buvette in Paris led her to winning the French Le Fooding Award.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Leiber, Nicholas (June 2002). "Dream Big" (Article). O, The Oprah Magazine. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  2. ^ Amanda (May 27, 2008). "Double Breaking BLOCKBUSTER: Jody Williams Out at Morandi". Eater NY. Retrieved December 8, 2010.
  3. ^ "Restaurants: Gottino" (Review). New York. Retrieved December 8, 2010.
  4. ^ "How Rita Sodi and Jody Williams Created Some of New York's Most Beloved Dining Spaces". Food & Wine. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
  5. ^ Ong, Bao (13 December 2021). "The Via Carota Team's West Village Empire Expands With a New Restaurant". Eater NY. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  6. ^ a b Tepper Paley, Rachel. "HOW THIS AWARD-WINNING DUO BALANCES LOVE AND WORK". James Beard Foundation. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  7. ^ "All Locations". Buvette. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Jody Williams". Charleston Wine + Food. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  9. ^ "Chef: Jody Williams". Nancymatsumoto.com. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  10. ^ Burton, Monica (May 6, 2019). "Here Is the Full List of James Beard Awards 2019 Winners". Eater. Retrieved 30 August 2022.