Celebrity chef Nate Appleman is a Culinary Institute of America graduate, award-winning cookbook author, and television personality. His first cookbook, A16: Food + Wine, is based on his time as executive chef and co-owner of San Francisco’s acclaimed A16 restaurant. The cookbook earned the esteemed International Association of Culinary Professionals Cookbook Awards for Cookbook of the Year and First Book/The Julia Child Award.

Chef Appleman’s television career took off when he competed on Food Network’s The Next Iron Chef in season two. Other celebrity chef contestants competing on the show were Iron Chef Jose Garces, Amanda Freitag, and Jehangir Mehta. After being defeated on Iron Chef America by Chef Michael Symon, Chef Appleman made a comeback on the Food Network hit series, Chopped All-Stars where he impressed the three judges, celebrity chefs Marc Murphy, Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli, and Marcus Samuelsson. Chef Nate’s competitors were chefs Jacques Torres, Beau MacMillan, and Anita Lo who all were eliminated, leaving Appleman as the winner of the cooking challenge and a $50,000 reward which he donated to his chosen charity, Kawasaki Disease research. Nate Appleman has also made appearances on other TV shows like Unique Eats, Martha Stewart Show, and The Great Food Truck Race.

Chef Appleman was hired in 2010 by Chipotle Mexican Grill to create new cuisine for the restaurant chain. His assistance was vital to the launch of ShopHouse Southeast Asia Kitchen. He has won awards for his soulful style of cooking such as Food & Wine’s Best New Chef award and the James Beard Foundation Award for Rising Star Chef and has been featured in national publications Bon Appetit, Gourmet, The New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.