Brooke Williamson
Born1978 or 1979 (age 44–45)[1]
Los Angeles, California
Occupation(s)Chef and restaurateur

Brooke Williamson (born 1978) is an American chef and restaurateur. She won season 14 of the US television reality cooking competition series Top Chef and has owned several Los Angeles-area restaurants.

Early life

Williamson was born in Los Angeles to Catherine Elliot and Keith Williamson;[2][3] her parents were both artists.[4] She had an early interest in cooking and worked as a teacher's assistant at the Epicurean Institute of Los Angeles at age 15.[2] She graduated from Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences in 1996.[4] She attended the University of Colorado Boulder and the Culinary Institute of America.[4]

Career

Williamson became a sous chef at Michael's, a Santa Monica restaurant, when she was 19.[5] In January 2001 Williamson was hired by Chris and Chantal Schaefer as executive chef of Zax in Brentwood[1] where she met her husband Nick Roberts, who was her sous chef.[6] That same year she cooked at the James Beard Foundation House.[5]

In 2003, when Williamson was 24, she and Roberts opened Amuse Café.[5][2] In 2010 they opened Hudson House in Redondo Beach and the Tripel in Playa del Ray,[2] both of which they left or closed during the COVID pandemic.[7] In 2014 they opened Playa Provisions.[2][8] They've also opened Da Kikokiko and a kitchen supplies shop, Tripli-Kit.[4][9][10] Williamson and Roberts co-own the hospitality group Company for Dinner.[10]

Television appearances

Williams has appeared twice on the US version of cooking competition reality show Top Chef and won season 14, after being eliminated and returning from Last Chance Kitchen, finalling against Shirley Chung.[5][11] She came in second to Kristen Kish, who had also returned from Last Chance Kitchen, on season 10.[5][12][11] In 2020 Williamson won the first Tournament of Champions cooking reality competition.[13]

Williamson has also appeared on Top Chef Duels, Knife Fight, and Guy's Grocery Games.[14][15] She served as a judge on BBQ Brawl and was host and mentor on MTV's House of Food.[14][16]

Philanthropy

Williamson has participated in food-related philanthropic projects such as No Kid Hungry and World Central Kitchen.[17][18][19][20][9]

Personal life

Williamson is married to chef Nick Roberts. The couple has a son.[4] As of 2019 they lived in Los Angeles' Westchester neighborhood.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b Verbilla, S. Irene (2001-01-25). "Woodside Eatery Is Gone, but Zax Is Fine in Its Place". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2021-09-05. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Brooke Williamson". Fine Cooking. Archived from the original on 2021-09-05. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  3. ^ Shaw, David (21 July 2004). "My dinner with Andrea and the fuqi feipian gang - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2021-02-11. Retrieved 2023-07-19.((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ a b c d e "Brooke Williamson '96". Crossroads School. 2021-01-13. Archived from the original on 2021-09-05. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  5. ^ a b c d e Kramer, Jillian (23 March 2018). "How 'Top Chef' Season 14 Winner Brooke Williamson Got Where She Is Today". Food & Wine. Archived from the original on 2021-09-05. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  6. ^ Jung, E. Alex (2017-03-03). "Top Chef's Brooke Williamson and Shirley Chung on the Season 14 Finale". Vulture. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  7. ^ Elliott, Farley (2020-12-02). "Top Chef's Brooke Williamson Walks Away From 12-Year-Old Hudson House Restaurant". Eater LA. Archived from the original on 2021-09-05. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  8. ^ "'Top Chef'-led Concept Playa del Rey Introduces New Cocktail Program". FSR magazine. July 21, 2021. Archived from the original on 2023-07-19. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  9. ^ a b "How Chefs Brooke Williamson and Nick Roberts nail success in both work and marriage". Southbay. 2018-07-30. Archived from the original on 2021-09-05. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  10. ^ a b c Pingel, Maile (11 July 2019). "Brooke Williamson and Nick Roberts Are Westchester's Local Foodie Power Couple". Modern Luxury Angeleno.
  11. ^ a b Mayfield, Priscilla (2017-03-03). "'Top Chef' Season 14 Final Recap—Shirley vs. Brooke". Orange Coast Magazine. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  12. ^ Wade, Chase (2013-02-28). "'Top Chef' finale ends predictably". Dallas News. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  13. ^ "Underdog Brooke Williamson Wins Food Network's Epic Culinary Competition Tournament of Champions". discovery.com. April 2, 2020. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  14. ^ a b Rosenberg, Lizzy (2022-08-10). "'Top Chef' Winner Brooke Williamson Talks Latest Projects, Season 20 Thoughts, and More". Distractify. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  15. ^ Singh, Parul (2022-03-30). "Who is Brooke Williamson? Top Chef guest is Season 14 winner". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  16. ^ "Chef Brooke Williamson to Appear on MTV's 'House of Food'". Redondo Beach Patch. 2014-01-21. Archived from the original on 2021-09-05. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  17. ^ "Bio". Brooke Williamson. Archived from the original on 2021-09-05. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  18. ^ "Brooke Williamson". Bravo TV Official Site. 2012-09-14. Archived from the original on 2021-09-05. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  19. ^ "How to Support Small Businesses in L.A. During COVID-19". Condé Nast Traveler. 2020-04-07. Archived from the original on 2021-09-05. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  20. ^ Thompson, Elise (2020-03-30). "Local Chefs Partner with José Andrés' World Central Kitchen to Feed our Healthcare Heroes". The LA Beat. Archived from the original on 2021-09-05. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
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