Born in Uniondale, New York, chef Richard Blais was educated at The Culinary Institute of America where he received an AOS in culinary arts. Blais studied under such food-world luminaries as Thomas Keller, Ferran Adria and Daniel Boulud. In 2000, Blais relocated to Atlanta, GA where he founded Trail Blais, a culinary consulting and creative organization, dedicated to designing and operating restaurants in the ****. The company opened a number of popular Atlanta eateries including FLIP Burger Boutique and The Spence. Blais became well-known after appearing on the fourth season of "Top Chef" (Bravo 2006- ). Blais did not triumph, but was the runner-up that season, losing to Chicago chef Stephanie Izard. In 2009, Blais returned to the "Top Chef" stage, assisting Rick Bayless on "Top Chef Masters" (Bravo 2009- ). Blais made yet another Top Chef appearance, competing on "Top Chef: All Stars" (Bravo 2011), which he won, defeating competitor Mike Isabella. Following that "Top Chef" victory, Blais went on to appear on a number of food related shows, including the documentary series "Life After Top Chef" (Bravo 2012), the competition "Iron Chef America" (Food 2005-14) and "Guy's Grocery Games" (Food 2013- ) with television personality Guy Fieri. In 2013 Blais released his first cookbook, Try This at Home: Recipes from ** Head to Your Plate. The book relies on ****** methods and invites home cooks to try new flavor combinations for traditional and classic dishes. Blais began hosting his first series, the food trivia and science-themed "Hungry Games" (Food 2014) in the fall of 2014.