Meet the Judges for Rounds 1 and 2...

Tony Abou-Ganim

Tony Abou-Ganim is currently featured on the Iron Chef America competition entitled "Battle Mango" with  Iron Chef Mario Batali,  He also has  released his first DVD “Modern Mixology: Making Great Cocktails at Home”.   He was recently featured on television's Fine Living Network demonstrating the art of cocktail preparation in a program called “Raising the Bar: America’s Best Bar Chefs.”  Mr. Abou-Ganin grew up in the bar business, learning the craft from his cousin Helen David at the Brass Rail bar in Port Huron, Michigan.   His introduction to the business was steeped in the traditional construction of classic cocktails and professional barmanship, setting the stage for his ultimate creative leadership in the beverage industry.

After graduating from college, Mr. Abou-Ganim gained an appreciation at Jack Slick's Balboa Cafe in San Francisco for a well-made cocktail's use of only the freshest ingredients.   In 1990, he assisted with the opening of "Harry Denton's", soon to become a legendary hangout in the City by the Bay.  In 1993, Tony moved to New York City where he worked with Mario Batali at Po in the West Village.   In 1995, he returned to San Francisco and re-joined Harry Denton in opening "Harry Denton's Starlight Room," atop the historic Sir Francis Drake Hotel.   It was here that Mr. Abou-Ganim created his inaugural "Specialty Drink Menu" featuring several of his original cocktail recipes including the infamous Cable Car, Sunsplash, and Starlight. 

In 1998, Mr. Abou-Ganim was personally selected by casino magnate Steve Wynn to create a resort-wide cocktail program encompassing all 22 bars in his Bellagio Resort.  Drawing from his tried and true philosophy of bartending and drink preparation - quality ingredients and proper technique realize great drinks - Mr. Abou-Ganim set to the task of creating hundreds of original cocktails themed to the venue in which they would be served.   Currently, he operates his own highly successful beverage consulting firm which specializes in bar staff training, product education and cocktail development.

 As the National Ambassador of the United States Bartender's Guild, www.usbg.org and an Associate Member of the Museum of the American Cocktail, www.museumoftheamericancocktail.org Mr. Abou-Ganim continues to teach the history and lore of cocktails as well as provide skillful leadership to the bar industry.   He lives in Las Vegas where he continues to hone his craft through the creation, sharing and appreciating the enjoyment of  the very best cocktails.

Tobin Ellis

Most recognized for his recent appearances on Throwdown with Bobby Flay and the Food Network Challenge, Tobin logged 18 years behind the wood in New York, DC, and Las Vegas including as head bartender for Caesars Palace. He still can’t get an olive onto a cocktail pick on the first try. Or the second.

Tobin now leads a team of consultants that includes John Hogan, Kristen Schaefer, Christian Self, Jen Buxbaum, and Amanda Gager who are known collectively as BarMagic of Las Vegas. Established in 1997, BMLV provides concept & beverage development, training, operations, and special event bar catering for resorts, casinos, restaurant groups, and major spirit brands on four continents.

Tobin and his team’s work have won a slew of accredited awards and have been featured on a number of television networks around the world (ABC, NBC, USA, E!, A&E, Food Network, Travel Channel, Bravo, Discovery) and in international newspapers (NY Times, LA Times, El Heraldo, London Sunday Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal) over the years. Yet secretly Tobin yearns only to fire a 400 year-old canon into the English Channel. Again.

Steve Olson

Steven Olson, aka wine geek, is dedicated to the education and consultation of degustation for appreciation and celebration. He teaches, lectures, and writes all over the world about wine, beer, spirits, sake, and virtually any other beverage under the sun, discussing their integral cause-and-effect relationship with food as he preaches the gospel of his mission: making tasting fun by removing the intimidation factor and the pretense.

Steve has hosted a couple of his own TV series’ and been a guest on many others, and has also served as host of several trade education and product information videos, including being the voice of Virtual Bartender kiosks in retail stores nationwide. Olson also acts as wine and spirits consultant for Bon Appétit magazine. He was honored by being selected as Santé Magazine’s Spirits Professional of the Year for 2003, and in 2005, he was chosen as CHEERS Magazine Beverage Innovator of the Year, a lifetime achievement award.

Olson may be best known to many, however, for his restaurant consulting, having designed the innovative beverage programs and service systems for several nationally acclaimed restaurants, including the Relais Chateau, Mobil Five Star award-winning Mayflower Inn in Connecticut, New York City's #1 Zagat-rated restaurant, Gramercy Tavern, the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, and the Adam Tihany-designed Summit at the Mobil Five-Star, AAA Five-Diamond BROADMOOR in Colorado Springs. Most recently, Olson designed the beverage programs for OTG Management, which exclusively operates dozens of restaurants and wine bars in airports, and in 2007 Steve was chosen by Grupo Posadas hotel group to design the beverage programs for their Aqua properties, which opened in 2008.

aka wine geek, the company, specializing in the professional presentation of wine, spirits, beer, sake and non-alcohol beverage education for the trade, consumers, press and the media since 1992, has always strived to achieve the goal of empowering members of the trade and consumers alike to make their own decisions and trust their palates. The company is based on Steven Olson’s standing as being one of America’s foremost experts and most sought-after lecturers in the business, and his 30+ years of experience in the restaurant business.

aka wine geek is more than Steve Olson, however. It is a network of employees and contracted consultants, including several speakers and sommeliers, bartenders and servers throughout the US, that collaborate to make his vision happen.

aka wine geek acts as a liaison between all strata of the industry, serving in an educational and advisory capacity between producer, importer, distributor, sales force, restaurateur, retailer, management, servers, and all others involved in the presentation and sales of beverages, creating the opportunity for successful interface with the consumer. www.akawinegeek.com

In March 2006 in New York City, Olson, along with four partners, Dale DeGroff, Doug Frost MS, MW, F. Paul Pacult, and David Wondrich, opened Beverage Alcohol Resource, LLC (BAR). BAR is an independent organization whose mission is to educate, guide, and propagate the healthy, enlightened, and responsible use of beverage alcohol products. The school is in a unique position to create and teach a series of courses that will not just train, but actually educate those who take them, be they service industry professionals, members of the media, or curious consumers. BAR was chosen as CHEERS Magazine Beverage Innovator of the Year 2007. www.beveragealcoholresource.com.