Get to Know Your GoogaMooga Gurus: Tom Colicchio

Photo via ZagatBuzz

You've all been preparing for the food celebration at this weekend's Great GoogaMooga, right? Whether said preparation involves breaking out the stretchy pants or expanding your palettes, next Saturday and Sunday will prove to be a food festival of Empire State proportions. For fuck's sake, with an event that's being promoted as an "amusement park of food and drink," you're bound to end up broke, full, and slightly nauseated.

And did you know that there's an actual GoogaMooga "Guru Council?" The members are described as "culinary leaders who embody the spirit and community of GoogaMooga. They have generously shared their talent, ideas and playlists." The Guru Council is a real Who's Who of the New York Foodie Scene, so I'm going to help you get to know one of them a little bit better.

Chances are you can probably pick out Tom Colicchio out of a line up. The American celebrity chef is well-known for his head judging duties on Bravo's Top Chef. He's also made a significant dent in New York's restaurant industry. Along with Danny Meyer of Shake Shack fame, Colicchio co-founded the Gramercy Tavern where, for a time, he served as Executive Chef. He also founded the Craft restaurants, which include Craftbar, Colicchio and Sons and Riverpark.

Here are a few random and interesting facts from his Wikipedia page:

• On January 19, 2009, Colicchio performed the Heimlich maneuver on award-winning cookbook author Joan Nathan, who was choking on a piece of chicken. Both were at a U.S. presidential inaugural event in Washington D.C.

• In 2011, he did a cameo in the Season 23 premiere episode of The Simpsons.

So what can we expect from this high profiler at GoogaMooga?

Just like his no-nonsense manner on Top Chef, Colicchio's food style is straight forward. If you've never been to one of his restaurants, his meals are all about technique and letting quality ingredients shine without any fuss.