Meet the Experts

Jesse Brune is a Le Cordon Bleu trained chef and lifestyle coach living in Los Angeles. He first made waves on television as the breakout star of Bravo's hit show Work Out, and he recently joined forces with Food Network to lead the cast of Private Chefs of Beverly Hills. His mastery in the kitchen and sharp sense of humor earned him national recognition as a new and refreshing character in America's culinary scene.

Jesse has been featured in Us Weekly, OK! Magazine and MensHealth.com and has appeared on The Bonnie Hunt Show, Access Hollywood and E! Network's Red Carpet Oscar Special. He’s also had the privilege of working with top-notch Hollywood clients.

Ceci Carmichael graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education in 1998 and has traveled the country on numerous live media tours. In her down time, she uses her kitchen coaching business to teach clients how cook, and she’s getting ready to launch SwellFood.com, a cooking, food and lifestyle website.

She has hosted Food Network’s Calling All Cooks and Good Food Fast and later became the cooking expert on Fine Living’s Simplify Your Life. She has volunteered for Share Our Strength, teaching healthy cooking and nutrition to low-income families in New York City. She is also involved in creating school vegetable, fruit and herb gardens as part of a program to teach horticulture to New York City students.

Kristan Cunningham’s style of do-it-yourself design has never been more relevant, or in demand than it is now. With less money to spend and more free time at home, design enthusiasts are taking on projects themselves and looking to designers like Kristan for tips on the easiest and most budget friendly changes they can make to their homes. Kristan was the host and lead designer of HGTV’s Design on a Dime and the resident design expert on the Rachael Ray Show. Her new show, Super Saver Showdown, is coming soon to OWN. Her work has been featured in top publications including People Magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, Cosmopolitan, Ladies Home Journal, Redbook, O at Home, The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times.

Upon graduating from culinary school, Darrell A. Smith II, known affectionately as “DAS,” developed his “new American” cooking style. He moved to Los Angeles in 2006, and studied under renowned chefs at several five-star hotels. DAS also launched his own catering company and created a culinary arts program at Beverly Hills High School.

In 2010, he landed a spot as a contestant on the sixth season of Next Food Network Star. His restaurant, Tradition, opened recently in Hollywood, and as part owner and executive chef, he continues to create exciting dishes inspired by his love of small plates and vibrant ingredients.

Amy Devers is an artist, designer, furniture maker, carpenter, lifestyle expert and television personality. Born and raised in Michigan, she has zig¬zagged across the country to earn three college degrees in fashion buying and merchandising, and furniture design.

Currently she can be seen helping homeowners as the host of A&E’s Fix This Yard, and on Ovation’s Designer People, she travels while profiling the world’s leading designers. She has been host and designer on several other DIY shows where she done everything from helping viewers build modern furniture designs, to fixing botched home projects. She also operates her own design studio in Los Angeles and contributes regularly to Modern Ink Magazine.

Television host and lifestyle expert Jennifer Farrell is a familiar face known for hosting A&E home improvement series such as Find & Design, Point, Click, Design, as well as The Big Fix. But her most popular venture has been The Jennifer Farrell Collection, which features furniture and décor pieces at nearly 1400 stores nationwide.

Prior to joining A&E, Jennifer was on Style Network's My Celebrity Home, and she spent three exciting seasons on Lifetime Television's home makeover show, Merge. Her award-winning gardens have been highlighted on HGTV, and she’s considered an expert on green design. Jennifer's signature style balances an inventive flair for the theatric with a sense of cozy comfort to create inspired living.

Chef Susan Feniger’s passion has propelled her career as a successful chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. She divides her time between her first solo venture, Susan Feniger’s STREET, and other restaurants in Santa Monica, Los Angeles and Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. A veteran of nearly 400 episodes of Food Network's Too Hot Tamales and Tamales World Tour series, Feniger has also co-authored five cookbooks.

She has appeared on Bravo's Top Chef Masters, and has been featured in Oprah Magazine, Gourmet, Sunset, and Bon Appetit. In all her endeavors, Susan’s genuine love for the authentic flavors of street and home cooked food has been her driving force and she shows no signs of slowing down.

Cristina is an accomplished TV show host, cook and author of various books, including New York Times bestseller, Okay, So I Don’t Have a Headache. She has expertise in the areas of women’s health, culinary arts and stylistic design. Her fifth book, a new cookbook, A Big Bowl of Love was recently released in 2011.

She hosts a cooking web series on Oprah.com and completed filming her show, “A Big Bowl of Love,” on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), which debuted in January 2011. It features celebrity guests along with members of her family and friends serving up great ideas for all kinds of real-life situations. She has also done Kellogg commercials for OWN and her recipes appear on over 20 million cereal boxes.

Star Hansen is an organizing expert who helps people decode their clutter in order to live a more joyous, stress-free life. She has compared getting organized to a personal archeology dig. Her multi-layered approach goes far beyond the "stuff" and into the emotional, spiritual and psychological aspects of organization. Her vibrant personality, insight and firm yet light-hearted approach motivates and inspires people without being judgmental or critical.

Star has appeared as a host and featured expert on The Tyra Banks Show, A&E’s Obsessed, HGTV and the Style Network. She is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and is based in Los Angeles.

Slomique Hawrylo is a passionate special events designer and planner who can transform a simple dinner table into a work of art. She has been a guest expert on Lifetime’s Get Married, and has also been featured on the popular wedding blog, Style Me Pretty.

As a designer, Slomique has designed many events ranging from the African American Directors Awards, album release parties, corporate events, event photo shoots for major hotels and weddings. Her desire to create a memorable event transcends her vision for design by turning the dreams of her clients into in a reality.

Born and raised in Winnetka, IL, Adam Hunter remembers redoing his room as soon as he was old enough to know how. After 10 years on Broadway, the University of Michigan trained actor brought his passion for drama and staging beyond the footlights. He studied at the Parsons School of Design and soon counted many Broadway stars among his interior design clients.

Now, Adam is a full service design firm in the heart of West Hollywood, and his celebrity clientele include Neil Patrick Harris, James Caan, Travis Barker, Jennifer Coolidge and Jon Heder. Working with his staff of award-winning interior designers, Hunter is known for mixing glamour with a relaxed California sensibility.

Tracy Metro is an accomplished designer, organizer, party planner, shopper, cook, carpenter and crafter. She has appeared on TLC’s Designing Spaces and the SheKnows.com webisode series, HomeEmergency. She’s also known as Handy Jane on the women’s home improvement community, BeJane.com.

Tracy does it all, from teaching people how to take simple foods from bland to brilliant, to transforming apparel, home furnishings and the bric-a-brac from yesterday into modern designs of today. She knits, welds, sews, scrapbooks, makes custom furniture and transforms cluttered areas into calm, organized and productive spaces in which people can live and work.

A native of Alaska, accomplished carpenter Thad Mills' career has been fueled by his Juneau upbringing. He completed a four year, 8000 hour course at the Southern Alaskan Carpenters Training Center and went on to work in rural areas of Alaska where he put his talent and education to use on everything from renovating schools and hospitals to working on missile silos. He currently resides in Los Angeles where he's put his love for sustainable living into a reclaimed and slab wood furniture business.

Thad has also been the lead carpenter on the hit shows Trading Spaces and Dear Genevieve and most recently hosted the home design show, Neighbor Labor. Motivating and empowering others with construction know-how that has the ability to change lives is his passion.

Chef Stuart O’Keeffe’s cooking philosophy is ‘hearty but healthy.” He recently appeared as a co-star on two seasons of Food Network’s Private Chefs of Beverly Hills and has his own cooking show in Ireland and New Zealand.

Stuart’s Kitchen premiered August 2011 along with an iPad and iPhone app to complement the series. In the app, he cooks along with you, showing you how to perfect his recipes. Stuart resides in Los Angeles.

Nancy Rodriguez has worked in the home improvement business for nearly 20 years, not only working on houses but teaching others, too. She’s inspired men and women alike to take home projects into their own hands, and led countless workshops in plumbing, electrical, tiling, flooring, painting, wallpapering and craft projects.

Her talents landed her a spot on the first all-women build crew for Discovery Channel’s “Monster House,” and then as a co-host for the series “Dude Room.” Most recently, Nancy co-hosted “Over Your Head” on HGTV, where she helped homeowners finish those lingering home improvement projects they’d started but never completed. She thrives on helping people bring their home projects to life.

Brooks Utley is a trendsetter helping to reinvent design with his "Recycle, Reuse, Repurpose" philosophy. Brooks takes uncommon building materials and creates mind-blowing results for homeowners. As a carpenter on HGTV’s $250,000 Challenge, he helps homeowners compete for prizes.

A Salt Lake City native, Brooks’ enthusiasm for carpentry and design was ignited at age 12 while assisting his father on home building sites. He now has his own company focusing on interior design, home remodeling and custom landscaping. Numerous homeowners including some well-known celebrities have benefited from his experience and unique creativity.

Kenneth Wingard graduated from Princeton University’s School of Architecture in 1986 and has studied art, sculpture and architecture in Europe, Asia and Africa. It was during these travels he developed an appreciation for the skill of the local craftsmen and began to think about how to combine those talents with his own design sense.

Kenneth has worked for Williams-Sonoma, and was the Divisional Director of Pottery Barn until he left in 1996. Shortly after, he launched his first line of vases, bowls, candlesticks and canisters made of materials such as brushed metal, wood, acrylic and glass. His products have been spotted at the New York and San Francisco MOMA, LACMA and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.