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New Zealand native and International celebrity chef Jason Roberts could easily be mistaken for a carefree college student instead of the world-renowned executive chef, author and television personality that he is.
His brilliant smile and cheeky nature captivates people on all continents, while his health-conscious culinary skills - currently on display in his cookbook Graze and via his new television show - tantalize taste buds everywhere.
Finding inspiration in his Nana's kitchen as a child, Jason 'Jas' Roberts boldly declared, "Nana, I want to be a cook!" Role models were't in short supply, with Nana and grandfather making their living as caterers and his other grandmother running a restaurant. A New Zealand native, Jason the child experienced nothing but praise from teachers and other adults for his excellent cooking and presentation skills in home economics classes.
"I have wanted to cook for as long as I can remember," says Jason. "It's something I do to indulge my imagination, be creative, and feed my artistic passion. To me, cooking is the most consistent of life's joys and is immeasurably rewarding - instantly and constantly."
Apprenticeships at top Sydney restaurants won him the title of Apprentice of the Year from the East Sydney Technical Institute in 1993. Gaining the post of Executive Chef at the renowned Bistro Moncur (where Jason stayed for 7 years), a 2 Hat restaurant, Jason was featured in a newspaper article on Sydney's 'new breed of Chefs'. This article caught the attention of Australia's Channel Nine, where Jason became the host of the new cooking program Fresh, which he continued to do for 4 years. Fresh aired 5 days a week in Australia and New Zealand.
In January 2003, Jason was introduced to 16 million Americans on the ABC TV program Good Morning America, where he's since become a regular guest. His appearance created such a desire for his recipes on the ABC's website which rocketed from number 25 to number 4 in the day's stories. The TV Cook went on to tantalize viewers in the US making several appearances on the Emmy award winning The Wayne Brady Show, The Sharon Osbourne Show, E! and The Style network's You're Invited. Jason also appeared on New York's top rating morning show Ali & Jack, Talk Soap with Lisa Rinna and was the special Australian guest entertainment at the 2004 TV Soap Awards.
In February 2004 Jason joined forces with the world-renowned US production company, Mandalay Pictures where he has commenced shooting his new lifestyle program "Jason Roberts Taste" which commenced airing on the PAX network in the USA in October 2005.
At this time Jason also signed a deal as Global Ambassador for the leading cookware brand iCook. This sees Jason traveling with the world throughout the year teaching about healthy cooking and healthy lifestyles, in a way only Jason can...with high energy, lots of laughs and lots of dancing!
Jason continues to work in the corporate arena via product launches, corporate presentations and his now-famous, "In the Kitchen with Jason Roberts" which sees guests in a commercial kitchen, cooking their own meals under the tutoring eye of Jason......these events have proven to be a hit for team building and "something different" for the corporate events market.
2005 saw Jason make numerous appearances on the Network 10's "Ready Steady Cook" and completing endorsements and appearances for Sanitarium, Parbury Kitchens and Kleenmaid.
Jason's passion for fast, healthy eating and fresh produce led him to creating a cookbook, Graze: Lots of Little Meals Fast (MacMillan, 2003), which taps into the growing trend towards eating smaller, more frequent meals by offering healthy small-portion recipes and alternative cooking methods to save time and effort. 'It's all about little meals,' says Jason.
December 2005 saw Jason pick up 2 American Accolade Awards for Best Host and Best Health and Lifestyle program for Jason Roberts' Taste.
2006 saw the release of Jason's 2nd book "Elements" in July, a pilot for a new American TV program produced by, and starring, Jason. Jas will also continue his endorsements for many Australian and American companies and a favorite of Jason's, his work at AML's Beef Week Rockhampton 2006.
2007 has seen Jason move to Los Angeles, California to work on new television projects and to continue the promotion of Elements in the USA and Canada.
The best is yet to come!