Producer, television personality, and culinary expert Gail Simmons, and producer and casting director Samantha Hanks launched Bumble Pie Productions in 2014 as a vehicle for discovering and promoting unique talent and points of view in the food and lifestyle space, with a special focus on young female voices. The two met in 2008 and became close while working together on BRAVO’s “Top Chef,” the Emmy-winning reality cooking competition on which Gail is a permanent judge and Samantha casts and produces for Magical Elves. Their shared interest in the food world and desire to empower and encourage female artists, both in front of and behind the camera, led to the creation of their bi-coastal production company.
Their debut project “Star Plates” put some of the most recognizable faces in film, music, and television on the line for the cooking class of a lifetime, making restaurant-quality dishes for real customers under the watchful eye of their favorite super-star chef, and feature improbable pairings like Mindy Kaling and Marcus Samuelsson, Erin Andrews and Susan Feniger, and Alyson Hannigan and Michael Voltaggio. “Star Plates” was a collaboration with Drew Barrymore’s Flower Films and Authentic Entertainment, and premiered in September 2016 on Food Network. They have several projects in development for 2018.
In addition to her producing duties, Gail is a trained culinary expert, food writer, and dynamic television personality. Since the show’s inception in 2006, she has lent her extensive expertise as permanent judge on BRAVO’s Emmy-winning series Top Chef. Now in its 17th successful season, Top Chef is rated the #1 food show on cable television. Gail also hosts Iron Chef Canada, the #1 show on Food Network Canada. She was head critic on Top Chef Masters, host of Top Chef Just Desserts, Bravo’s pastry-focused spinoff of the Top Chef franchise, and co-host of The Feed, which aired in 2014 on FYI. Gail’s first book, a memoir titled Talking With My Mouth Full, was published in February 2012 and her first cookbook, Bringing It Home: Favorite Recipes from a Life of Adventurous Eating, was released in October 2017, nominated for an IACP award for Best General Cookbook. She lives in New York with her husband, daughter, and son.
For more information on Gail, please visit her website.
To purchase Gail's latest cookbook, Bringing It Home, click here.
Prior to becoming Senior Vice President of Casting for acclaimed production company Magical Elves, Samantha worked for celebrated film producers Jane Rosenthal at Tribeca Productions and Lynda Obst at Paramount Pictures. She gained studio experience at MGM, where she helped develop their slate of pictures, including the Barbershop franchise, before working as a creative executive for director/producer Jon Favreau on Iron Man, Zathura, and the Emmy-nominated show “Dinner for Five.” She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two daughters.
They have several projects currently in development.