Tanya Holland
NY, US
Co-host of Food TV's "Melting Pot" who takes a multi-ethnic approach to cuisine
With a background as eclectic as the cuisine she creates, Tanya Holland has a wealth of diverse experience. Raised in upstate New York, Holland credits her love of foods to her heritage and upbringing: her father is from rural Virginia and her mother is from Louisiana. When Holland was eight years old, her parents founded a gourmet cooking and eating club that consisted of six couples from different ethnic and professional backgrounds. They gathered to share experiences and meals that ranged from French, Mexican, Jewish, Indian and Chinese to Pennsylvania Dutch, Italian and Southern cuisine. Holland took notes at an early age. Holland began her restaurant career in New York City as an assistant manager of Cornelia Street Cafe, Cafe Rakel and Nosmo King restaurants. She went on to work as a catering manager, a tasting assistant for a wine importer, and a server at Mesa Grill before she committed to a career in the kitchen. Holland returned to Mesa Grill in 1994 to work as a line cook. While working as a line cook at Verbena, she supplemented her income as a food styling assistant at "Metropolitan Home," "Vegetarian Times," and "Food and Wine" magazines. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Russian language and literature from the University of Virginia, as well as a Grande Diplome from La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine in Burgundy, France. In addition, she has taken numerous classes as New York University and Peter Kump's New York Cooking School. As a chef, Holland has traveled in pursuit of more experience and knowledge. In France, she trained with Michel Sarran at Le Mas Du Langoustier on the Island of Porquerolles and Jean-Michel Bouvier at Restaurant L'Essential in Chambery. She spent two summers on Martha's Vineyard at The Oyster Bar and L'Etoile, interrupted with a winter at Hamersley's Bistro in Boston. Holland has contributed to "Food and Wine" and "Signature Bride" magazines. In 1998 she taught at the Cambridge Culinary Institute in Massachusetts and continues to share her knowledge at recreational cooking schools across the country. Currently, she can be seen as one of the co-hosts on the Food TV's "Melting Pot" series. The combination of heritage, education, personal and professional experience gives Holland a truly eclectic style, which emphasizes a commitment to simple, flavorful food. Using only the freshest ingredients, her "multi-ethnic" approach to cooking creatively combines Caribbean, Mediterranean, Asian, American Southwestern and southern influences while using classic French techniques.
With a background as eclectic as the cuisine she creates, Tanya Holland has a wealth of diverse experience. Raised in upstate New York, Holland credits her love of foods to her heritage and upbringing: her father is from rural Virginia and her mother is from Louisiana. When Holland was eight years old, her parents founded a gourmet cooking and eating club that consisted of six couples from different ethnic and professional backgrounds. They gathered to share experiences and meals that ranged from French, Mexican, Jewish, Indian and Chinese to Pennsylvania Dutch, Italian and Southern cuisine. Holland took notes at an early age. Holland began her restaurant career in New York City as an assistant manager of Cornelia Street Cafe, Cafe Rakel and Nosmo King restaurants. She went on to work as a catering manager, a tasting assistant for a wine importer, and a server at Mesa Grill before she committed to a career in the kitchen. Holland returned to Mesa Grill in 1994 to work as a line cook. While working as a line cook at Verbena, she supplemented her income as a food styling assistant at "Metropolitan Home," "Vegetarian Times," and "Food and Wine" magazines. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Russian language and literature from the University of Virginia, as well as a Grande Diplome from La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine in Burgundy, France. In addition, she has taken numerous classes as New York University and Peter Kump's New York Cooking School. As a chef, Holland has traveled in pursuit of more experience and knowledge. In France, she trained with Michel Sarran at Le Mas Du Langoustier on the Island of Porquerolles and Jean-Michel Bouvier at Restaurant L'Essential in Chambery. She spent two summers on Martha's Vineyard at The Oyster Bar and L'Etoile, interrupted with a winter at Hamersley's Bistro in Boston. Holland has contributed to "Food and Wine" and "Signature Bride" magazines. In 1998 she taught at the Cambridge Culinary Institute in Massachusetts and continues to share her knowledge at recreational cooking schools across the country. Currently, she can be seen as one of the co-hosts on the Food TV's "Melting Pot" series. The combination of heritage, education, personal and professional experience gives Holland a truly eclectic style, which emphasizes a commitment to simple, flavorful food. Using only the freshest ingredients, her "multi-ethnic" approach to cooking creatively combines Caribbean, Mediterranean, Asian, American Southwestern and southern influences while using classic French techniques.
2010