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Chuck WilliamsChuck Williams is the founder of the Williams-Sonoma company and author and editor of dozens of books on the subject of cooking. Williams-Sonoma Williams bought a hardware store in Sonoma, California in 1956. Over the next two years he gradually converted its stock from hardware to French cookware, filling a niche in the market as European cookware was difficult to buy in America at the time. The concept was successful and he moved his operations to San Francisco in 1958. More than a decade later, in 1971, Williams-Sonoma introduced its first cookware catalog. Soon after the business began expnding to more locations and now includes over 200 stores nationwide. In addition, in recent years Williams-Sonoma has begun expanding into Canada, with four stores as of 2005. Contributions to cooking Chuck Williams operates a test kitchen at Williams-Sonoma corporate headquarters in San Francisco, where recipes are tested for the company's catalogs and cookbooks. Chuck is an editor or contributor to nearly every cookbook that Williams-Sonoma releases, including the large multivolume Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library set, co-published by Time-Life Books. The series includes over 40 different volumes and has sold nearly 10 million copies. Chuck was the sole author of another Time-Life/Williams Sonoma series, Simple Cooking, which comprised Simple American Cooking, Simple French Cooking, and Simple Italian Cooking as well as a best of collection with selections from all three. All told, Chuck has been involved with the production of more than 100 different cookbooks. Chuck has also initiated scholarships for promising students in the field of culinary arts through several organizations including The Culinary Institute of America. Trivia - As a tradition, chef's aprons and similar items photographed for the Williams-Sonoma catalog bear the monogram "CEW", Chuck's initials.
- The mascot of the Williams-Sonoma-owned Pottery Barn Kids brand is Clancy, a teddy bear. Chuck keeps a four-foot tall version of Clancy in his office.
Links - Williams-Sonoma corporate site http://www.williams-sonomainc.com
* CIA Hall of Fame (press release) http://www.ciachef.edu/press/archives/2002/pr102502b.html
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