It’s Cocktail Time with Olympian & Food Network Host Brian Boitano & Cabana Cachaca’s Matti Anttila – September 2, 2010

We are honored to welcome Brian Boitano, Olympic Gold Medalist and host of Food Network’s “What Would Brian Boitano Make?” to our show this week. Few athletes have enjoyed the artistic & popular success that Brian has achieved since winning the Gold Medal for the US at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games. We will be chatting with him about his legendary career, his hit show on Food Network, which will also be shown on the Cooking Channel, and his passion for cooking and entertaining. We will also make a few of his favorite cocktail & hors d’oeuvres recipes to taste on the air. Then, we will turn our attention to one of the hottest spirits to hit the market in recent years, Cachaça. We’ll be joined by Matti Anttila, Founder & President of the ultra-premium Cabana Cachaça, who’ll talk to us about the brand, some of the great cocktails made with it including the Caipirinha and his plans for the upcoming Brazilian Independence Day. You don’t want to miss this episode! Cheers!

Guest Bios:

Brian Boitano

Brian began his figure skating career in 1972 at the age of eight after viewing a performance of “Ice Follies.” At 14 he became the U.S. Junior Men’s Champion and gained world recognition when he was 19 as the first skater to complete all six different triple jumps in a World Championship. In total, Brian, a three-time Olympian, has won more than 50 titles, including the Olympic Gold Medal. Brian has been inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame, the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame, and the National Italian-American Hall of Fame. In 1998, Brian founded Youth Skate, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to introduce San Francisco’s inner-city youth to the sport of ice skating. More than 6000 children aged 5-15 have participated. With a lifelong passion for food & cooking, Brian premiered the Food Network series, “What Would Brian Boitano Make?” in August 2009, where he takes viewers on a reality cooking adventure, creating amazing food for a new event in each episode.

Matti Anttila

Matti Anttila, a spirits entrepreneur from Montecito, CA, launched the super-premium double distilled Cabana Cachaça, in 2006. He graduated from Amherst College in 2001 and shortly thereafter, began working as an investment banker at J.P. Morgan in New York. While at J.P. Morgan, Matti was given the opportunity to travel to Brazil for work, where he was introduced to Cachaça, Brazil’s national spirit. In March 2005, Matti was inspired by the country and the Cachaça category and masterminded the concept for Cabana. A year later Matti switched careers and launched Cabana in the United States. Matti learned the skills needed to start his own company by growing up around two very prominent family businesses; his mother’s family created the American Brewing Company in St. Louis, Missouri, which was bought by Anheuser Busch, while his father’s family is in the timber industry in Finland. Matti and his wife, Jennifer currently reside in Manhattan.