Joey Altman

Altman grew up in the Catskills in New York, where his mother worked at Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel. As a child he wanted to be a magician, a stunt man, musician or an actor.[2] He earned a degree in hotel and restaurant management at the Sullivan County Community College in New York. He attended classes at California Culinary Academy in San Francisco with Mario Batali and John Bentley.[3]

He trained under Bernard Constantin at the Hotel Larivoire in Lyon, France, and with Jean Brouilly at Tarare in Brittany, France.[2] He worked at the Harvest Restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1985 he moved to New Orleans, Louisiana to work for Emeril Lagasse at Commander's Palace.[2]

In San Francisco he worked for Jeremiah Tower at Stars, Taxi, and as a private chef at music promoter Bill Graham's concert venues. He was opening chef at Miss Pearl's Jam House, a restaurant at the Phoenix Hotel in San Francisco's Tenderloin District. He owned and ran the Wild Hare Restaurant in Menlo Park, California from 1999–2003.[4] Beginning in 2002, Altman was spokesman for Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines.

Television career

At Food Network, Altman hosted "Appetite for Adventure", which demonstrated outdoor travel cooking, and "Tasting Napa", a travelogue.[4] He was the host of "What's Cooking with Joey Altman" on Shop at Home Network. In 1998 he launched the long-running "Bay Cafe", which features on-location and in-studio cooking demonstrations with guest chefs from around the San Francisco Bay Area.[5]

Altman, playing guitar at a fundraiser in San Francisco, is a hobbyist musician.

Altman is a blues guitarist, performing with the all-chef band "Back Burner Blues" for charity events.[4]

• with Jennie Schacht. Without Reservations: How to Make Bold, Creative, Flavorful Food at Home. Hoboken: Wiley (2008). ISBN 0470130458

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joey Altman.

• Official website