Gail Simmons has been a staple as a judge on Top Chef for a long time. This season is the twelfth season, taking place in Boston. As a new mom, it must be difficult to be so far away from her baby, but Simmons sucks it up and viewers definitely appreciate as she is a favorite on the show. Read on for all the facts on Simmons’ husband, daughter, and career.
1. Jeremy Abrams Is Her Husband
Jeremy Abrams married Gail Simmons in 2008 and the wedding was a farmer’s market theme. It was featured in Martha Stewart’s magazine and Simmons wore her mother’s Carolina Herrera wedding gown from 42 years prior. Simmons has helped Abrams with his business in the past, reportedly putting a large chunk of money into his company Audiostiles, which develops background music programming for the hospitality industry.
2. Her Daughter Is Less Than a Year Old
Show of likes for our all-time favorite foodie, @gailsimmons in our The Button Down Dress at her baby shower. http://t.co/yWzRbBGPcs
On December 29, 2013, Simmons gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Dahlia Rae Abrams. Simmons and her husband waited until their baby was born to find out the sex, though they decorated most of the nursery ahead of time. When Dahlia was born, Simmons’ rep told People:
Dahlia weighed 7 lbs., 3 oz. Mother, father and baby are doing wonderfully.
3. Simmons Dished Some Info on the 12th Season of Top Chef
Simmons opened up to Yahoo about what’s different on the show this season, other than former contestant Richard Blais joining the judges’ panel.
This season, we created sudden-death quickfires. In the past, there was no specific loser of the quickfire; this year, there will be. Some of our quickfires will mean that the person who did the weakest job actually goes home for it. That means you can’t just strive to get by in the quickfire … You have to work to save your life and stay in the game. [The elimination] doesn’t happen every time, but it’s just enough to keep them on their toes.
She continues:
Also, we used to bring out the strongest people [in one group] and then the weakest people [in another] and then send someone home, but now we bring everyone out at the same time to watch when we’re critiquing and complimenting. So you’re in front of your peers, and while sometimes you’re hung out to dry, we did it to provide valuable lessons.
Simmons also revealed that there will be an episode with first-responders from the Boston Marathon bombing.
4. She Is Very Charitable
Simmons makes sure to give back to the community through a variety of charities and organizations. Wikipedia gives the rundown on her efforts:
Gail is an active supporter of Common Threads, an organization that teaches low-income children to cook wholesome, affordable meals. She was a founding member of Food & Wine’s Grow for Good Campaign to raise funds and awareness for sustainable agriculture programs in the United States. She sits on the boards of the American Institute of Wine & Food, Hot Bread Kitchen, the Institute of Culinary Education’s Alumni Committee, the Women at NBCU Advisory Board, and the food rescue organization City Harvest.
5. Simmons Calls Herself a Culinary Expert
When it comes to food, Simmons has been a show host, an author, and a judge, but what she considers herself to be most is a “culinary expert.” Simmons tells Fine Dining Lovers:
I like to call myself a culinary expert, as it seems to put together all the things I do: the media appearances, cooking demonstrations, and writing. I’ve worked at a magazine for eight years, and I can’t call myself a chef – if anything, I’d be a cook. But as a culinary expert, I definitely understand chefs and the world of fine dining.
She says that it’s actually a tough job and, though she’s been working at it for 15 years, she still learns something new every day.
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Gail Simmons, ‘Top Chef’: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know