Joyce Belloise, Producer

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Check, Please! South Florida is a weekly, half-hour series that gives amateur foodies the opportunity to review, chat and combat about their favorite local restaurants. Episodes air on Mondays and Wednesdays. Season 3 begins January 18 at 7:30 p.m. on WPBT2.

Hosted by award-winning Executive Chef and TV personality Michelle Bernstein, the Check, Please! South Florida talk-show format is fresh, flavorful and will keep you coming back for the information, as well as the conversation.

Each week, three guests recommend their favorite local eateries. Unbeknownst to the restaurant, the three guests dine anonymously at each place, then dish about their dishes and dining experiences on the show. The always lively, and sometime controversial, panel discussions touch on everything from service and food to ambiance and price. Panelists’ comments, as well as clips from each episode, will be posted online after the episodes air.

James Beard Award-winning chef, restaurant owner, culinary consultant, author, TV personality, and Miami’s very own sauce-y sweetheart, Michelle Bernstein, has been pleasing palates for over twenty years.

The Miami native’s signature approach to “luxurious approachable food” may be sampled at her namesake restaurants Michy’s, located in the “upper east-side” of Miami. Michy’s is what Bernstein says she has always dreamed of owning; a cozy and approachable restaurant with her husband David Martinez. Their most recent venture, Sra. Martinez, serves Spanish-styled tapas in Miami’s Design District.

In 2006 Bernstein joined Delta Airlines in creating menus for their new Business Elite Class, both nationally and internationally. In November 2007, Chef Bernstein opened “Michelle’s at Carysfort” at the Ocean Reef Club, Key Largo. The restaurant combines old classics with new adventurous styles and a section dedicated to steak house favorites. Bernstein also reopened her restaurant MB at the Aqua Hotel in Cancun, Mexico. MB originally began in 2004 but was part of the Hurricane Wilma Disaster. The hotel and restaurant recently reopened to an even more beautiful surrounding and lavish environment.

Experience in the kitchen has made Michelle one of the most sought-after chefs in the television industry. For two years, Bernstein co-hosted The Food Network’s Melting Pot, a show that presented the traditions, stories and recipes of her Latin background. She was also a competitor and winner on the Food Network’s Iron Chef America series and has appeared numerous times on The Today Show and The Martha Stewart Show. She is currently the host of PBS’s Check, Please! South Florida, which received an Emmy nomination in 2009.

Chef Michelle Bernstein won the 2008 James Beard Award for “Best Chef: South.” Her Miami restaurant Michy’s received “Top 50 Restaurants in the Country” from Gourmet Magazine, “Best New Restaurant 2006” from Food and Wine Magazine, made the “Top Hot List 2006” from Bon Appétit Magazine, “Hottest New Restaurant” from New York Magazine and received “4 Stars” from The Miami Herald. Chef Bernstein was recently given an honorable Doctorate in Culinary Arts from Johnson and Wales University. She was also awarded the Philanthropic Award of South Florida, the Glass Ceiling Award from the Jewish Federation, “One of the 15 Top Latinas in the Nation” from Latina Magazine, and “Top 10 Jewish Women in America” from Jewish Woman International Federation. Bernstein’s first cookbook, Cuisine á Latiná, published through Houghton-Mifflin is available at bookstores everywhere.

Visit the website at www.checkpleasefl.com and watch episodes online.