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Patrick loves to help people create the homes they love to live in. A handyman in every sense, he shows viewers common sense solutions to some common home problems. His favourite job, however, is showing people that they’re capable of doing more in their homes than they may think they can.
He graduated from East Carolina University with a bachelor of arts in sociology, where he also studied percussion and was a trained drummer. He started working in sales and corporate branding for a general contractor in Raleigh, North Carolina before launching his own general contracting company.
Patrick first brought his innovative problem solving skills to television as the general contractor on the TLC show Town Haul. As a general contractor, he has helped families with small fix-it jobs as well as completed major renovations, and he brings that wealth of experience to Home Made Simple.
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Wanda has a natural eye for design. She began developing her sense of aesthetics as a set designer for theatre productions in New York, Philadelphia, and Europe.
Wanda’s eye for décor soon earned her a job with Interior Motives, a prestigious Los Angeles interior design firm. After a few years, she moved on to start her own successful business, The Piper Decorative Artisans. Her stunning work is currently featured in many Hollywood celebrity homes and on the HGTV shows, Designer’s Challenge, Designing for the Sexes and 24 Hour Design. |
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Growing up in Washington D.C., Deborah Fewell was influenced and inspired by her father’s herb gardening and her mother’s kitchen narratives. She has been honing her craft for a lifetime, all toward her ultimate goal of becoming “America’s Cooking Sweetheart.”
Deborah received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Howard University, and to sharpen her culinary technique, she went on to receive an associate degree from the world-renowned Le Cordon Bleu School (Pasadena Campus). Chef Deborah was then chosen in the highly competitive internship program at the Food Network in New York, and before long became a personal chef to sports stars and A-list celebrities.
As fate would have it, Deborah returned to the Food Network, but this time as one of the eight competitors in The Next Food Network Star. In this highly touted chef’s competition, Deborah became a first runner-up. She was later featured as a host for the one hour special Surf and Turf on the Food Network.
With many new career opportunities on the horizon, Deborah is now in position to give voice, story and experiences to the meals she prepares for people who love to eat.
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Adrien fell in love with cooking at a young age, while watching his mother prepare homemade dinners. Soon, he was creating his own recipes and earning praise for his skill as a chef.
Cooking is his passion, but when he’s not in the kitchen, Adrien spends his time making music. In 1988, he graduated from the renowned Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences and became a certified studio engineer. He also played bass guitar in a band for 10 years.
His goal is to combine his two loves, cooking and music, into a television show called Sound Bites. He’s well on his way to achieving his dream. For five years, he hosted the award-winning show, Home For Dinner, in Jackson, Michigan. Then, in 2006, he was selected as a finalist on Season 3 of The Next Food Network Star on Food Network. Now, Adrien is continuing his TV career and bringing his extensive cooking experience to Home Made Simple. |
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Michael, a self-taught and self-motivated culinary master, always mixes a sense of energy and adventure into his cuisine. For 12 years, he worked as a private chef in kitchens all over the world. His travels inspire his cooking, and he loves to weave the culinary traditions of the more than 55 different nations he has visited into his recipes.
For Michael, food is a fun, fascinating celebration of life that is meant to be shared with others. He thrills at creating delicious, nutritious recipes and enjoys teaching adults and children how to fall in love with food through the adventure of cooking.
His enthusiasm and talent earned him fans all across America when he appeared on the series, The Next Food Network Star and starred in the subsequent pilot, Eat, Drink and Be Merry, on Food Network. He also performed several cooking segments on the Emmy-award winning Tyra Banks Show. Currently, Michael runs a successful business teaching and cooking for clients in Los Angeles and abroad. |
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From an early age, it was clear that Rory was a culinary prodigy. She began her professional career when she was only 15 years old, working in her father’s Italian restaurant. Two years later, she was accepted into the prestigious Culinary Institute of America.
At just 21 years old, Rory opened her first restaurant, called Bourbon Street, in Hillsdale, New Jersey. Her Cajun-inspired cuisine, which included New Orleans delicacies such as alligator strips, crawfish étouffée and jambalaya, became an overnight success.
After conquering the restaurant business, Rory set her sights on television. In 2007, she finished in second place on Season 3 of The Next Food Network Star on Food Network. After that, her recipes were featured on the cover of Bon Appetite Magazine and she appeared on the popular Rachael Ray Show. Now, Rory wants to share her talents by introducing others to new foods and flavors. |
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Kendra feels most at home in the kitchen, with an apron around her waist and a spoon in her hand. That’s probably because cooking reminds her of her mother, father and two grandmothers back in West Virginia, who first inspired her love of food.
The lessons Kendra learned from her family helped her become the chef and food writer she is today. In addition, she holds a master's degree in writing, and has completed culinary studies at the Institute for Culinary Education in New York. Early in her career, she worked as a food critic for Style Weekly. Now, Kendra is the author of a cookbook published by Ten Speed Press, is a regular contributor to National Public Radio’s Kitchen Window and is the writer of a weekly food column in the Richmond Times Dispatch. She also runs her own business, called The Accidental Chef, where she teaches cooking classes. Kendra also taught classes for prominent companies like Sur La Table and Williams-Sonoma for many years.
After 12 years of professional experience, the lessons Kendra learned from her family are still the most important. She credits them with teaching her what cooking is really about: friends, family and a love of good food.
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Nathan Lyon loves to empower people through the medium of food. His first experience with the world of cuisine began in his grandmother’s kitchen, where he helped make fresh, seasonal meals using produce straight from the garden. It was from here that Nathan's love of eating fresh foods evolved.
Nathan graduated from James Madison University with a bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences with a Public Health minor. Upon graduation, Nathan visited Europe where he developed a deeper understanding of local foods, and learned that delicious cuisine can be prepared with very little effort. Nathan then moved to Los Angeles, where he began working closely with California farmers, in addition to attending culinary school at SCSCA.
Next, Nathan appeared on the second season of The Next Food Network Star, then later helped develop the successful healthy cooking show, A Lyon in the Kitchen, which is now in its second season, airing on both Discovery Health and FIT TV. Most recently, Nathan brought his cooking talents to Home Made Simple TV. He continues to enjoy sharing his love for tasty seasonal food and speaking nationwide about the health benefits of eating fresh, unprocessed foods.
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Allison’s passion is helping people enjoy food and cooking. As the founder of The Wooden Spoon, a private cooking school, she usually teaches cooking one-on-one. She shows people not only how to cook, but also new organization ideas for their kitchens and new tastes for their families. She does all of this while making sure that cooking is fun for everyone involved.
Allison honed her skills working with some of the biggest names in the home cooking business. She’s written for Cooking Light Magazine and provided recipes for many cookbooks, national magazines and newspapers. She developed and edited five cookbooks for Dr. Robert Atkins, and created original recipes for the South Beach Diet. She was a member of the test kitchen team and television show for Everyday Food Magazine.
After graduating from Cornell University, Allison received a culinary degree from the Institute for Culinary Education in New York. Before concentrating on home cooking, she worked in marketing and spent many years working in restaurants.
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Nadia loves to bring her funky style into people’s homes. She aims to inspire her audiences to translate their signature style into comfortable, livable homes. Nadia came to Home Made Simple from the Midwest, with an important stopover as featured designer for While You Were Out on TLC. On this hit TV show, Nadia garnered a reputation for understanding what the show’s guests wanted in their dream space—then making it a reality. She has proven she can create out-of-the-box, creative solutions, which she combines with her Midwestern, can-do attitude.
Nadia got her start when she demanded full creative control decorating her bedroom—when she was four. She’s picked up a love for new looks and designs, while holding onto a deep respect for what’s come before. With her no-nonsense style, she creates magical spaces that people love. |
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Home Maven Jordin Ruderman has interior design in her blood. She was born and raised in Manhattan’s artsy Greenwich Village. Her mother is an interior designer and antique dealer, as are her aunt and grandmother.
Jordin has worked alongside her mother on many design jobs from corporate offices to homes of all types. Her love of design also drove her to major in Art History at Oberlin College. Her favorite areas of study are Ancient Chinese art and Italian Renaissance art. It was through her studies that she gained a strong sense of color, line, and composition.
After college, Jordin worked alongside fashion designer Joan Vass for three years, where she learned about the construction of clothing, varied textiles and textures, color combination, and applied decoration.
Jordin went on to receive her MFA from Columbia University in acting, and has incorporated her love of design into the sets and costumes of many theatrical productions. |
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A native of New York City, Stephanie's earliest memories include her mother knitting and her grandmother painting portraits and still-lifes. Her great-grandmother taught her how to hand sew as a child, instilling in her the value of making things by hand. Shortly after, Stephanie's Snoopy doll had a whole new fashionable wardrobe!
Stephanie studied dance throughout school and received her BA in Drama from Vassar College. She has performed in various shows in New York, most notably in the Off-Broadway show, STOMP. She has also appeared in films, in magazines and on TV commercials, most notably as a coffee-loving conga player in a national Folgers® Coffee commercial.
When not performing, Stephanie enjoys spending her time finding new things to make, including stone necklaces, candle votives, sugar scrubs, night lights, potpourri, sequined cell phone holders, and gift cards.
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June Saruwatari lives to organize.
Her unique spin on order helps people enjoy a simpler, peaceful and more
meaningful life. She is the owning
founder of The Organizing Maniac™ and wrote Behind The Clutter: Truth, Love, Meaning, Purpose.
For more than ten years, she has
been teaching, lecturing and consulting on her ideas about organization. She helps people take steps to let go of things
they no longer want or need and prioritize space for the things that are most important to them. June brings a notable blend of order and inspiration to Home Made Simple. |
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Scott got his start as a handyman early. Growing up as the son of an aeronautical engineer led to some wonderful weekend projects assembling and disassembling just about anything that ran, from cars to clothes washers.
Later, as an engineering student, Scott loved figuring out what made things possible, what made them work and what could make them better. That led to him teaching himself home improvement, where he could dream up ideas and then figure out how to best get them to work.
Scott’s skills are perfect for big home projects, as well as everyday needs. He comes up with easy ways to make your house a home you’ll love to live in. Maybe that's a more efficient way to paint, a simpler way to entertain guests or a faster way to cook a great meal.
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