The 2009 Vendy Awards (The Vendys)

Jacques Torres

Jacques Torres grew up in Bandol, France, a small town in the southern region of Provence. In 1980, he landed a job with Michelin two-star chef Jacques Maximin at the Hotel Negresco and started a relationship that would last 8 years and take him around the globe. In 1986, Jacques was awarded with the prestigious M.O.F. medal, the youngest chef to earn the distinction.

In 1988, he ventured to the U.S. as the Corporate Pastry Chef for Ritz Carlton. In 1989, the legendary Sirio Maccioni invited Jacques to work at New York’s most famous restaurant, Le Cirque. For 11 years, Jacques served presidents, kings, and celebrities in his every day work at Le Cirque.

In 2000, Jacques fulfilled a life-long dream and opened his first chocolate factory, Jacques Torres Chocolate in Brooklyn. He specializes in fresh, hand-crafted chocolates free of preservatives and artificial flavors. In 2004, he opened his second chocolate factory, Jacques Torres Chocolate, and located it in downtown New York City. In 2007, Jacques opened his third location, a retail-only boutique, in the heart of Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

He serves as Dean of Pastry Studies at New York’s French Culinary Institute. He is also author of three cookbooks and has hosted his own television shows on PBS and on the Food Network. He always finds time for philanthropic endeavors and press appearances. He is currently busy on adding a line of Jacques Torres ice cream to his ever-expanding business and hopes to open an ice cream shop in Brooklyn by June 2009.

Pichet Ong

After earning his Master’s Degree in Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley Pichet Ong worked in some of the country’s most - renowned kitchens, including La Folie (San Francisco), Chez Panisse (Berkeley), Olives (Boston), Tabla and Jean -Georges (New York). Although he started out in pastry, Pichet spent eight years cooking savory food before he rediscovered his passion for dessert making. Pichet served as the opening pastry chef of Spice Market, 66, Patroon, and rm.

In April 2007, Pichet opened P*ONG in the heart of New York City’s Greenwich Village, a decidedly savory restaurant that showcased his ability to blur the line between sweet and savory. Although it closed in 2009, it was widely acclaimed and featured in numerous publications, including: Bon Appetit, The New Yorker, New York, The New York Times, Elle, Vogue, Condé Nast Traveler, Harper’s Bazaar, and O, The Oprah Magazine.

In May 2007, Pichet released his first dessert cookbook, The Sweet Spot, which received a red-starred review in Publisher’s Weekly, a nomination for the World Gourmand book award, and has been hailed by Amanda Hesser of The New YorkTimes Magazine as “a standout and one of the most original dessert cookbooks in years.” Gourmet Magazine also chose it as one of the “13 Best Cookbooks in 2007”.

Pichet has appeared on Iron Chef America, Roker on the Road, Martha!, CBS News, and The Fresh Grocer. Pichet is also consulting for numerous restaurants as well as a bakery commissary in Japan.

Among his accolades Pichet has been named one of the “Top Ten Pastry Chefs in America” by Pastry Arts & Design and Chocolatier, and was selected as a “Pastry Provocateur” by Food & Wine Magazine. In 2002, Pichet was named “Rising Star Chef” by Starchefs and is one of the few pastry chefs to have been featured in the prestigious “The Chef” column of The New York Times. He has also been nominated twice for the James Beard Award in the “Outstanding Pastry Chef” category.

He lives in New York City, where he is working on his second cookbook as well as a new version of his bakeshop, Batch, opening in 2009.

Denisse Oller

Denisse Oller is not your usual chef. One of the most honored women in Spanish-language television, Oller has served as anchor and correspondent at the local and national level for major Spanish language networks Univision and Telemundo. For over 25 years Oller has covered major news events and interviewed prominent figures in politics and culture, ranging from Bill Clinton to Pedro Almodovar. She has received five Emmys, two Gracie Awards and the Edward R. Murrow Award for excellence in investigative reporting, and was named by Hispanic Business Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanic Personalities in the United States.

Yearning to pursue her lifelong interest in food, she enrolled at the Institute of Culinary Education. Upon graduation, she created and hosted a weekly cooking segment on Univision 41’s morning show, “Al Despertar”, the Spanish-language equivalent of The Today Sho. In 2008, inspired by the passing of one of her beloved dogs, she launched Boca Dulce, a line of natural, artisanal cookies with Latin flavors such as dulce de leche and guava. Oller has appeared on The Today Show and CNN en Español, and has been a featured chef at Macy’s and the Summit Wine and Food Festival. She is working on her first cookbook and teaches recreational classes at I.C.E.

Jehangir Mehta

Jehangir Mehta is the chef and owner of Graffiti, a food and wine bar in New York’s East Village, and the creator of Partistry, an event-management company featuring handmade confections, teas, chocolates, and hand-painted wedding cakes. He is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and has been a pastry chef at some of the finest restaurants in New York City, including Jean-Georges, Mercer Kitchen, Union Pacific, Compass, Aix, and Sapa. Chef Mehta will be a contestant in the upcoming season of Food Network’s Next Iron Chef (October 2009). He lives in New York City with his wife and two children.

Zach Brooks

Fat man who likes to eat. Sorry, is that not enough? After spending 10 years working in radio at WFNX in Boston, and Indie 103.1 FM in Los Angeles, Zach discovered his true calling while working at Sirius Satellite Radio in New York City’s Midtown Manhattan: finding good places to eat lunch. The blog Midtown Lunch, was born in May of 2006 partly as a public service to help other office workers find good lunch, but mostly as an excuse for Zach to eat at street carts and all you can eat buffets every day for lunch. (”I had to get that extra large order of chicken and lamb over rice, honey. It was for work!”)

Overwhelmed by the surprise success of the site (apparently there are a lot of street food and all you can eat buffet lovers working in Midtown), Zach left Sirius in April of 2008 to work full time on Midtown Lunch. He also has done freelance work for a number of food websites, and was consulting editor for the launch of Serious Eats: New York Most recently the site was featured in the New York Times for its tireless efforts to uncover the best street food, and other cheap lunches, that Midtown has to offer- including past Vendy Award nominees such as the Biriyani Cart, Kwik Meal, and Hallo Berlin.

Zach lives with his wife and 9 month old son Harry in Hell’s Kitchen. He is considering writing a book about how to be a food blogger without becoming morbidly obese, but wouldn’t know where to start. Maybe a guide to all-you-can-eat buffets is a better idea.

Mina Fasolo

Mina Fasolo, the first Vendy Awards Citizen Judge, is the youngest of three children from a multi-ethnic family made in New York. She is the daughter of a naturalized US citizen born in Japan and a second generation Italian-American father born and raised in New York City. Her paternal grandfather, an immigrant from Sicily, was a baker who helped introduce pizza to New York City during the pre-war era, and one time was a street vendor who sold his pizzas from a cart along the Harlem and East Rivers. Mina has joyfully consumed vast amounts of street food during travels through Europe, East Asia, and South East Asia and currently enjoys the amazing street food offerings of her neighborhood in Corona, Queens.

Tim Janus

Tim Janus is a top ranked competitive eater from New York City known in the competitive eating community as “Eater X.” He was the International Federation of Competitive Eating’s 2004 Rookie of the Year, and is the current tamale-, cannoli-, burrito-, and tiramisu-eating champion of the world. He was featured on the show “True Life: I’m a Competitive Eater” along with then world-champion hot-dog eater Takeru Kobayashi and was a test subject in the National Geographic documentary, The Science of Speed Eating.

Anita Lo

Anita Lo is the chef and co-owner of two highly-acclaimed restaurants in New York City — Annisa and Bar Q. She grew up in Michigan and graduated first in her class at the Ritz-Escoffier cooking school in France. She was named Food and Wine Chef of the Year in 2001. Before opening Annisa in 2000, she spent years in the kitchen at Bouley and Chantarelle. In 2004, she defeated Mario Batali on Iron Chef America.

Daisy Martinez

Daisy Martinez is a food writer and the host of “Daisy Cooks!” on PBS. She is the author of Daisy Cooks! Latin Flavors That Will Rock Your World, which was named the Best Latino Cuisine Cookbook in the World at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Daisy was inspired by her grandmother and mother who taught her that the kitchen is the happiest room in the household, filled with love, family, and delicious food. Daisy currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband and children.

Paul Rieckhoff

Paul is the Executive Director and Founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the nation’s first and largest non-partisan, non- profit Iraq and Afghanistan veterans group. He is also the author of the critically-acclaimed Chasing Ghosts, and a nationally recognized authority on the war in Iraq and issues affecting troops, military families and veterans. Prior to going to Iraq, Paul worked as an investment banking analyst on Wall Street. For two years during high school, he sold hot dogs from a food truck.

Calvin (Bud) Trillin

Calvin (Bud) Trillin is a journalist, humorist, and novelist. He worked as a reporter and staff for numerous media publications such as Time magazine and The New Yorker. He is best known for his humorous writings about food and eating such as the Tummy Trilogy, Feeding a Yen and Alice, Let’s Eat. He leads the Come Hungry eating tour each year as part of the New Yorker Festival. Calvin currently resides in Greenwich Village.

Lizz Winstead

Lizz Winstead is a critically-acclaimed political writer, producer, comedian and co-creator of the Daily Show and Air America Radio. She is also the creator of “Shoot the Messenger“, a live comedy show presenting the world as seen through the filters of the fictional producers and on-air talent at “Wake Up World,” the worst fake morning news show in America. She has also been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post.