Joan Steffend
Joan is on an interesting trip.
Born in Cambridge, Minnesota, she grew up acting in school plays (her first appearance as a green light bulb was particularly
inspiring). Always looking for a self-deprecating laugh, she believed her destiny was to be Carol Burnett. Finding
out the position had been filled - quite well actually - was tough to swallow, but Joan carried on.
Joan performed on stage in college at the University of Minnesota- Duluth, in summer stock, and at Warner Brothers
Film Actors Workshop in LA, where no one could be convinced to be impressed by her.
Ever resilient, Joan proceeded to Stage Two of her career.
In television news, Joan started out acting like a news anchor and reporter, but learned on the job at the NBC affiliate
in Duluth, Minnesota. By the time she left for an anchor job at KARE-TV (NBC) in the Twin Cities two years later, Joan
had figured out her favorite part of the job - telling people's stories and having the license to ask people almost anything.
At KARE, Joan started looking for people and stories to uplift the viewers, and in the process won quite a few
awards, including a national Emmy (the only one that made it into the living room) and the Grand Award from the New
York International Film Festival. Her favorite achievement, though, was getting 40 thirty second spots on the air at
KARE called "Something to Think About." They were meant to encourage and inspire herself and others, and they did.
Stage Two is getting a little long, so we may as well move on to Stage Three.
Joan went looking for a way to be creative, and laugh more, and have a little extra time for her family. She found a job
hosting "Decorating Cents" on HGTV. Based on the premise that you can make a 500-dollar budget stretch all the way
around a room, the show inspired viewers to re-use, re-cycle, and re-imagine design. Joan laughed more and hugged
more people during the ten and a half years she worked on Decorating Cents than you can imagine. Her "work" led her
to appearances on Oprah, Live with Regis and Kelly, The CBS Early Show, The Today Show, and Entertainment Tonight.
While at HGTV, Joan hosted many of the top rated specials, including six Dream Homes, Christmas at the White House
(3 times), and The Rose Bowl Parade.
Ready for Stage Four?
So is Joan. This is the moment where it all comes together. Joan is planning an optimistic, spiritually centered Stage
Four. It's already produced a long held dream. Two-thousand-ten is the lucky year when Joan's first book, ...and she
sparkled, will make the leap from her heart to TRISTAN Publishing to booksellers. The book has one goal - encouraging
all of us to recognize that we are magnificent just as we are, and there is magic all around us, waiting to be seen and
experienced.
Leslie Gonzales, Missus Smarty Pants
Leslie Gonzales is a fashion stylist who studied fashion merchandising in Los Angeles. She now resides in Charlotte NC
and owns a business called MissusSmartyPants.com.
As a professional stylist that helps women improve their personal image, she knows the value of making every first impression
a positive and lasting one.
Chris Linnares
Chris Linnares is a best-selling psychotherapist and author from Brazil that has touched a generation of women in her
native country with her books, radio- show, DVD and her acclaimed one-woman show. Chris Linnares is the author of several
books and is the creator of Diva Dance that has being empowering women all over the country, and has earned rave
reviews from the media and leading organizations such as Go Red - American Heart Association, Microsoft, Avon and
others. Fox Television News said, "Get your groove on! Diva Dance is a powerful tool to increase women's self esteem!"
Her amazing life story and unique ability to use dance, as a practical tool to create wellness - in combination with the latest
research about mind/body connection - make her an inspiring speaker and writer.
A few years ago when she was in her country inspiring other women, she had a vivid dream where a man told her "I love
you, I miss you and I am waiting for you in Los Angeles." She took the leap of faith and decided to follow her dream and
travel to L.A. A few months later, against all odds, this optimistic and brave woman met her "prince charming."
Instead of moving to a "castle" on the beach, she moved to Fargo, North Dakota. (Yes! You read it right...from the tropical
country of Brazil, 80 degrees and palm trees, to the frozen tundra of Fargo, 20 below zero and snow men!) Rather
than becoming a princess, she became a step-mom of two precious girls and she was faced with one of the hardest moments
of her life... Her father died. Her baby girl, Luiza, spent a week in intensive care after her premature birth. Linnares
gained 60 pounds and suffered from postpartum depression. While dealing with grief and depression, this successful
speaker, who often inspired others, became the one that needed to be inspired.
Ali Vincent
The winner of NBC's hit show "The Biggest Loser" season 5, and the first ever female winner, Arizona native Alison "Ali" Vincent is a dynamic and inspirational speaker.
A former champion synchronized swimmer, Ali set foot on the Biggest Loser ranch weighing 234 pounds. After weeks of hard work and dedication to health and fitness on the ranch and at home, Ali stepped on the scale at the finale weighing in at 122 pounds, 112 pounds less than her starting weight. This successful weight loss was enough to earn Ali the title of Season 5 winner and the first ever female winner.
Breast cancer awareness is a cause that is close to Ali's heart and she is proud to support the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Ali was the captain of the Phoenix Mercury team at the Phoenix race on October 12, 2008. She was also named the 2008 Inspiring Woman of the Year by the 2007 WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury.
Ali has been featured in numerous magazines and on several local and national talk shows. She was also named a spokesperson for 24 hour Fitness, where she trains.
In 2009, Ali released a book titled "Believe it. Be it" in which Ali tells her story of someone who, despite being an athletic, popular high-schooler, by her early 30s was just kind of letting life happen to her. In this book she shares her strategies for losing weight, navigating through the show "Biggest Loser" and engaging more in life.
Ali's personal mantra "Believe it. Be it" has resonated with people and inspired them to set new goals for their life. Full of energy and always ready to spread her message of positivity, lifelong health and fitness.
Jon Ashton
Meet Relish Chef Jon Ashton
Relish Chef Jon Ashton graduated from St. Helens College in Great Britain in 1994 and worked in several notable restaurants, including the Derby Lodge Hotel’s French restaurant, and as a sous chef at The Kirkfield Hotel’s restaurant. His success and flair in the kitchen soon gave way to appearances on British cooking shows, including the nationally syndicated “TV Dinners,” a professional experience that soon became a passion, when Jon relocated to the States.
Once established in Florida, Jon quickly began producing and starring in his own local access TV show, which aired in Disney’s town of Celebration, Fla. Soon after, he took a position as the regular midday chef at Orlando’s FOX affiliate station and appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” a year later. He regularly appears on the “Today Show,” and is currently the food correspondent for the nationally syndicated morning show “The Daily Buzz,” broadcast to over 160 stations. He also serves as the in-house chef for Relish magazine, with a readership of 67 million.
Through his work as the Relish chef, Jon can be seen on ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX affiliates across the nation as he travels on media tours and presentations for the Relish Cooking Show & Expo. The two-hour show combines cooking demonstrations with audience interaction and is presented across the country, hosted in each city by Relish newspaper publishing partners. Since the inaugural show in 2007, the production schedule has grown exponentially from one show a year to 13, thanks to the hard work of the Relish team behind the scenes and Jon’s interactive, hugely entertaining stage presence. Currently, 20 shows are scheduled for 2011 from coast to coast.
Jon, who has had the honor of working with such culinary icons as Emeril Lagasse and Martha Stewart, also appears in the VIP segment of the Relish Cooking Show & Expo. For this separate ticketed event, Jon and staff provide private cooking demonstrations for ticketholders, as well as a chance to meet the Relish chef personally.
Q. When did you learn to cook?
Jon Ashton: At the age of 8, with my dear, sweet Granny Ashton.
Q: What’s your approach to food?
JA: Food shouldn’t be a complex subject. It should feel good to us, like a comfortable pair of old jeans. Simple recipes, simple meals and a simple lifestyle.
Q: You frequently ask folks “what they would cook for the queen,” so what would you cook for the president?
JA: Hmm, what an incredible honor that would be. Since English cuisine hasn’t always had the best of reputations in the culinary world, I’d like to cast a positive light on the foods of the British Isles. Therefore I’d probably make him some fish ‘n’ chips, Shepherd’s Pie and a lovely Victoria Sponge Cake (named after my Mum and daughter).
Q: What’s in your fridge right now?
JA: We just went to the local farmers’ market today, so lots of fresh produce— tomatoes, cabbages, etc.
Q: Has your daughter, Victoria Mei, changed how you eat or cook?
JA: I’m more conscious of what I cook at home now, and I make sure I incorporate all the food groups since early-age nutrition is so important.
Q: What’s your downfall food?
JA: French fries and chicken curry.
Q: With childhood obesity at an all-time high, what advice can you offer parents and grandparents to help them foster a healthy relationship between kids and what they eat?
JA: Kids eat for all sorts of reasons. I know—I was a fat kid. I used food as a solution to my unhappiness. Once I began to look at food as a source of nourishment and growth, to feed my soul and my mind, not as a source of escapism from my own life, I started living a balanced lifestyle.
Q: Who would you like to have for dinner?
JA: If I could pick a person from history, I would pick Gandhi. It would be such a wonderful honor to cook for such an incredible human being and take lessons of tolerance and compassion from this gentle soul.
Q: What’s your “can't live without” kitchen gadget?
JA: Oh gosh, there are so many. It has to be my knife, then a microplane.
Q: What would folks be surprised you like to eat?
JA: I really do have a fondness for Indian curry.
Q: What’s the food you miss most from home (Liverpool, England).
JA: Probably a good scouse, especially during the gray winter months.
Q: And scouse would be...?
JA: It’s a very traditional dish made with lamb stew and root vegetables. Beef is also used. Poorer folks, like my family who couldn’t afford it, used the cheaper cuts of meat available.
Q: What food do Americans totally miss the boat on?
JA: I believe we are still not eating local and with the season, but I think we are making great steps in the right direction.
Q: What would you want for your last meal?
JA: Probably the same meal my Mum made for us growing up. Burnt toast (caramelized is the politically correct term) and scrambled eggs with ketchup. Sometimes it’s not the actual meal that matters, but the people and memories they bring you.
Q: Biggest piece of advice to get folks back in the kitchen?
JA: It’s not as hard as you think it is. Take baby steps by starting out easy. Make it a goal to cook two times a week, then up it to three, and so forth. Many make the mistake of setting goals that are too high, causing them to quit soon after. (It’s the same as folks who decide to lose 20 pounds at the start of the New Year and give up by the end of the first month because the weight wasn’t falling off quickly enough.)
Sue Doeden
Sue Doeden of Bemidji, Minn. is a culinary enthusiast with a passion for food. Her down-to-earth approach to food preparation along with her energetic, spunky spirit make her cooking demonstrations an experience that participants want to keep coming back to. Her weekly food column, which includes recipes, stories and her own photography, appears in eleven Forum Communications-owned newspapers in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Her television food segment, Lakeland Cooks, can be seen every Wednesday night on Lakeland Public Television’s 10:00 newscast. She also teaches cooking classes, develops recipes for national food companies and writes a food blog, offering more recipes that she’s tested and tasted. You can visit her blog at www.areavoices.com/sdoeden.
A graduate of North Dakota State University, Sue has also attended cooking classes throughout the country and has had special training at Tante Marie’s Cooking School in San Francisco. She is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Les Dames d'Escoffier, and is on the board of Women Who Really Cook, a Twin Cities-based organization for women who are in a culinary-related profession.
Sue’s love for food was born when she was a little girl and was the official kitchen assistant to her mom and her Hungarian grandma, both of whom were wonderful cooks. She has been clipping recipes and reading cookbooks since she was 9 years old.
In her free time, Sue loves to bike, snowshoe and hangout in antique shops and second-hand stores in search of new props for her food photography.
Sue relishes the times she gets her family into the kitchen with her to prepare food, then gather around the table to enjoy the meal together. She and her husband, Dennis, have two sons who are both married and four grandchildren.
Eric Watson
Eric Watson is a graduate of a three year culinary apprenticeship of Keystone Resort in Summit County, Colorado. Eric is a certified culinarian through the American Culinary Federation and possesses an associate degree of Applied Science in Culinary Arts.
Eric is originally from Glenwood Springs, Colorado and has worked in many award-winning restaurants of the area. As an apprentice, Eric traveled throughout the United States as a member of a culinary competition team and later as a coach. Eric’s work experience also includes restaurants in Arizona and Hawaii.