- Company
- Crafted Hospitality
- Role
- Founder & Owner
- Est. Net Worth
- $20 Million
- Stage
- Established
- Industry
- Hospitality
Tom Colicchio
Founder & Owner at Crafted Hospitality
About
Tom Colicchio opened Craft in New York in 2001, building a restaurant philosophy centered on ingredient-driven simplicity that earned him a James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef. He expanded Crafted Hospitality into a multi-concept restaurant group and became the head judge on Top Chef, using the Bravo platform to elevate American culinary culture and advocate for food policy reform. Colicchio has been a leading voice on issues including food waste, hunger relief, and fair wages for restaurant workers, testifying before Congress and co-founding Food Policy Action.
Current Company
Crafted Hospitality — Founder & Owner
The Chef as Craftsman and Advocate
Tom Colicchio opened Gramercy Tavern with Danny Meyer in 1994, establishing himself as one of New York's most talented chefs before launching Craft in 2001 — a restaurant built around the radical idea of letting ingredients speak for themselves. No composed plates, no architectural plating — just the best possible version of each component, served on its own. The approach won Colicchio a James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef and influenced a generation of cooks who moved away from overwrought fine dining.
As head judge on Bravo's Top Chef since 2006, Colicchio reached audiences that most restaurateurs never could. He used the platform not just to evaluate food but to educate viewers about sourcing, technique, and the economics of running restaurants — making Top Chef one of the few competition shows that treated its subject with genuine intellectual seriousness.
Food Policy on Capitol Hill
Colicchio's advocacy extends far beyond the kitchen. He co-founded Food Policy Action, a nonprofit that scores members of Congress on food and agriculture votes, giving voters a tool to hold legislators accountable on issues from farm subsidies to school lunch nutrition. He has testified before Congress on hunger, food waste, and restaurant labor policy, and served as a founding board member of City Harvest.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Colicchio became one of the restaurant industry's most prominent advocates for federal relief, arguing publicly that without intervention, the independent restaurant sector — and the millions of jobs it supported — would collapse. His dual role as celebrity chef and policy advocate has made him one of the most effective bridges between the food world and Washington.