Greg Patent
Encyclopedia
Greg Patent is an American
award-winning cookbook author
and baker
. He also co-hosts a weekly radio show about food on Montana Public Radio, The Food Guys, with Jon Jackson, and has made guest appearances on television and radio programs throughout the United States.
to a Russian
father and Iraqi
mother, who met and married in Shanghai
. His mother and grandmother emigrated to Shanghai
from Iraq
in 1930, as did many Iraqi Jews. Patent lived in China
until he was the age of eleven years old.
During World War II
, he and his family lived with his grandmother in a one-room apartment. She was a baker who often prepared kosher Middle Eastern food. Soon after the war in 1950, he and his parents had immigrated to the United States
, and traveled by ship to San Francisco.
At the age of eighteen, Patent had entered into the Pillsbury Bake-Off
and won second prize in the junior division. However, with his parents' aspirations of him becoming an engineer or scientist, Patent studied and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley
with a Ph.D. in Zoology
and began a career in academia
.
The owners of Cuisinarts, Inc.
, Carl Sontheimer
, and his wife, Shirley, hired Patent as their national spokesperson. He featured on a 26-show series featuring the Cuisinarts food processor, which aired on The Learning Channel.
In the early 1990s, Patent began writing full time about food. His cookbook, Baking in America, was an IACP cookbook award finalist and won the 2003 James Beard Award and the Gourmand World Cookbook Award
for the Best Baking Book in the English Language. In November, 2004, he was profiled as “The Cake Crusader”, in Food & Wine by Matt and Ted Lee.
He currently lives with his wife, another zoologist, Dorothy Hinshaw, in Missoula, Montana
, whom he met at graduate school.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
award-winning cookbook author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and baker
Baker
A baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, Cakes and similar foods may also be produced, as the traditional boundaries between what is produced by a baker as opposed to a pastry chef have blurred in recent decades...
. He also co-hosts a weekly radio show about food on Montana Public Radio, The Food Guys, with Jon Jackson, and has made guest appearances on television and radio programs throughout the United States.
Early life
Born in the British Crown Colony of Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
to a Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
father and Iraqi
Iraqi people
The Iraqi people or Mesopotamian people are natives or inhabitants of the country of Iraq, known since antiquity as Mesopotamia , with a large diaspora throughout the Arab World, Europe, the Americas, and...
mother, who met and married in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
. His mother and grandmother emigrated to Shanghai
Shanghai ghetto
The Shanghai ghetto, formally known as the , was an area of approximately one square mile in the Hongkou District of Japanese-occupied Shanghai, to which about 20,000 Jewish refugees were relocated by the Japanese-issued Proclamation Concerning Restriction of Residence and Business of Stateless...
from Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
in 1930, as did many Iraqi Jews. Patent lived in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
until he was the age of eleven years old.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he and his family lived with his grandmother in a one-room apartment. She was a baker who often prepared kosher Middle Eastern food. Soon after the war in 1950, he and his parents had immigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and traveled by ship to San Francisco.
At the age of eighteen, Patent had entered into the Pillsbury Bake-Off
Pillsbury Bake-Off
The Pillsbury Bake-Off is a cooking contest, first run by Pillsbury Company from 1949 to 1976 as an annual contest. Since then, the contest has been held biennially.-History:...
and won second prize in the junior division. However, with his parents' aspirations of him becoming an engineer or scientist, Patent studied and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
with a Ph.D. in Zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
and began a career in academia
Academia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
.
Career
He worked as a teacher at the University of Montana in Missoula for ten years and later began writing a weekly food column for the local paper, the Missoulian, and also hosted a 30-minute cooking show that was taped in his home kitchen.The owners of Cuisinarts, Inc.
Cuisinart
Cuisinart is a brand for small kitchen appliances, especially the food processor of the same name, one of the first to become popular in the United States. It was founded by Carl Sontheimer in 1971, and became a leading brand in the United States and Canada....
, Carl Sontheimer
Carl Sontheimer
Carl G. Sontheimer was an American inventor and engineer best known for creating the original Cuisinart food processor.Sontheimer was born in New York but raised in France. He returned to the U.S. to attend MIT, where he received an engineering degree...
, and his wife, Shirley, hired Patent as their national spokesperson. He featured on a 26-show series featuring the Cuisinarts food processor, which aired on The Learning Channel.
In the early 1990s, Patent began writing full time about food. His cookbook, Baking in America, was an IACP cookbook award finalist and won the 2003 James Beard Award and the Gourmand World Cookbook Award
Gourmand World Cookbook Award
The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards were founded in 1995 by Edouard Cointreau.In 2008, books from 102 countries participated in the competition...
for the Best Baking Book in the English Language. In November, 2004, he was profiled as “The Cake Crusader”, in Food & Wine by Matt and Ted Lee.
He currently lives with his wife, another zoologist, Dorothy Hinshaw, in Missoula, Montana
Missoula, Montana
Missoula is a city located in western Montana and is the county seat of Missoula County. The 2010 Census put the population of Missoula at 66,788 and the population of Missoula County at 109,299. Missoula is the principal city of the Missoula Metropolitan Area...
, whom he met at graduate school.
External links
- Official website
- Greg Patent Books at AmazonAmazon.comAmazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...