Top Chef: where are they now (ongoing)
I thought it might be handy to have a single thread to comment on post-Top Chef news/appearances by former "cheftestants."
To start: Fabio is hosting the "Garlic Showdown" at the Gilroy Garlic Festival (July 24-26, 2009; the "Showdown" is the 26th).
Ruth Lafler
Jun 17, 2009 01:56PM
And Lee Anne apparently has a new gig as "Executive Chef of Kogi BBQ’s east coast operations."
http://midtownlunch.com/2009/06/08/to...
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I read in the Improper Bostonian that Tiffani Faison is a sous chef at O Ya. I saw Hung Huynh hanging out in the kitchen at the apps station at WD-50 one night in April.
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Fabio is also doing a 16-day Webathon at Bravo's site http://www.bravotv.com/blogs/the-dish (scroll down for the two Fabio videos so far) where he's creating dishes that are derivative of Italy's central region, the area devastated by the April earthquake.
And doesn't he have a book or show coming out soon?
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Fabio and LeeAnne are proof that winning Top Chef isn't as important as lasting deep into the competition so that you develop name recognition and an attractive TV persona, or as important as being seen as both talented and good to work with. LeeAnne has done a lot more with her fourth place finish than Tiffani with her appearance in the top two. Not to mention more than Hung and Illan have with their wins. Only one person can win Top Chef, but if you're smart, you can use the opportunity to make connections in the business that will do you just as well.
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Exactly. I have more respect for Fabio, Lee Anne, Dale Levitski, et al for using their exposure to do something else and get restaurants open. Even Dave Martin had his West Side restaurant that, I guess due to location and the economy, had to close.
Some more info re: where are they now? from the NYTimes back in May:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/nyr... Looks like Manuel is opening a restaurant as EC very soon.
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I agree. Except for Season 1, I can't remember who actually won. Once you get down to four or five really good cooks, it's sort of irrelevant who won. Harold was an exception. I was really rooting for him.
When you see someone do something amazing, it really doesn't matter if they go all the way. Hosea may have won, but Carla really knocked me out with her Krew dishes. Jeff was incredible as well. I would go to their restaurants first among that batch.
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Hung has been exec chef'ing at Solo in Manhattan (kosher), with plans to open his own restaurant in Manhattan soon while maintaining a consultancy role w/ Solo. Seems pretty productive to me.
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Not a contestant, but definitely part of the show: the house where the cheftestants lived in San Francisco is up for rent at a cool $12,500 a month.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/o...
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$2500 per person if you fill all 5 BRs. Holy crap! (quotingFrank Barone)....But I have to say the BEST comment in response to this part of the article/ad: "...is described as having "gorgeous designer detail throughout" and being walkable to Chestnut St "for coffee, numerous restaurants, delis, shopping and entertainment" is this one:
"I've always wanted a house that could walk. If it doesn't need a leash I could finish my breakfast while it takes me to work on Chestnut."
:-D
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Re: Brian Malarkey, the Oceanaire chain filed Ch. 11 this week. Although I’ve read conflicting reports, according to the first link below, the San Diego branch (where Malarkey is) is still open. The second link is to a lengthier piece from a Seattle perspective, where another Oceanaire store closed. I can personally confirm that the Cincinnati Oceanaire has closed, although it was a little disconcerting to see several fellows in bus boy uniforms dodging downtown traffic from the closed venue into an alley across the street carrying bus trays filled with booze the day after the news was announced . . .
http://www.hotel-online.com/News/2009_Jul_08/k.SDP.1247071258.html
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html...
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The San Diego branch of Oceanaire is(was?) the #2 performing unit in the chain. Brian Malarkey is currently on paternity leave and not cheffing there. He says he will return once his 6 weeks of leave are over, but there is strong speculation he, and the SD unit of Oceaniare, are history. Too bad, the Oceanaire in SD is really good and is(was?) well run, plus it has one of the best happy hours downtown.
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Spike Mendelsohn was the subject of the "A Night Out With..." feature in today's NY Times Sunday Styles section. apparently he's planning to open a pizzeria next door to his burger joint in DC...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/fas...
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Spike is all around town in DC. He's constantly doing little events. Every Sunday he grills at the Capitol Sky hotel poolside. He even does Jewish cooking at a local synagogue for holidays like Passover and Hannukah.
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Not only is Fabio hosting the Garlic Showdown, but Jamie and Ryan are participating.
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Hosea Rosenberg was at the Food & Wine Classic at Aspen, participated in the 21-city Top Chef Tour that ended in June (tho' I don't whether some/most/all cities) and has done some local cooking demonstrations at Colorado Whole Foods and elsewhere.
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Eater.com and 92YTribeca are hosting an event called Life After Top Chef with Harold Dieterle, Leah Cohen, and Lee Anne Wong tomorrow (7/16/09) in NYC. No doubt Eater will blog about it afterward for those of us who can’t attend.
http://eater.com/archives/2009/07/1_d...
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According to one of the new Top Chef Season 6 cheftestant's videos (Michael), Marcel is now his sous chef...although Marcel's MySpace page says sous at The Bazaar.
Ahhh - checking out The Dining Room's press page, it looks like Michael Voltaggio (TC6) just joined The Dining Room this past week (July 10), and was EC at The Bazaar prior to that - which would then make sense with him saying Marcel was his sous during the filming.
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Though Michael Voltaggio is no longer at The Bazaar, Marcel still remains there. I had dinner there two nights ago, and saw him in action in the kitchen...you can see that Wolverine-style hair from a mile away. FYI, food and service was great! Loved The Bazaar by Jose Andres.
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Saw Hung hangin' out at NYC's Highline Park this past weekend...
www.immaculateinfatuation.com
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Seems Lee Anne is not doing the Kogi cart thing after all. But purportedly she and Harold are each planning new restaurants:
http://eater.com/archives/2009/07/heartbreak_kogi_not_coming_to_nyc_anytime_soon.php#more
http://www.bravofan.com/top-chefs-lea...
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The Gorbals??? Perhaps it belongs on the "worst restaurant names" thread... It may be the name of a Glasgow neighborhood but I'm sorry, that's just not appetizing. Sounds more like a disease.
http://www.latimes.com/features/food/...
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Spike is getting some free PR from Michelle and Malia Obama: http://gawker.com/5331631/paps-snag-b...
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I just read this review for Stefan Ricters new place in Santa Monica - Wow it sounds great - if you open the provided link you will see pictures (and the full review)
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/644411
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blurb about the soft opening for The Gorbals - Ilan Hall's new LA spot:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/daily...
bacon-wrapped matzoh balls? oy.
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I wish there was more written about the food then the neighborhood. That article should have been in the real estate section.
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i took it as an indication that they couldn't come up with anything positive to say about the food!
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Oy vey, bacon wrapped matzoh balls, reported in a story by Jessica "Gelt". That Sam Zell has really done a job on the L.A. Times.
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yeah, i laughed out loud when i saw the byline :)
but i've gotta say, i do really like the redesign of the LAT website.
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Whatever else, The Gorbals is a horrible name for a restaurant. Just the sound of it evokes for me some cheesy '80s film about a family, its furry alien/whatever invaders, and their whacky/gross hijinks. Not appetizing.
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Or something out of Harry Potter.
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For me, it evokes phlegm. Lots of phlegm.
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Hosea Rosenberg at Steamboat (Colo) Wine Festival earlier this month. http://culinary-colorado.blogspot.com...
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Stephanie Izard came to my town, Ann Arbor to do a cooking demo for a packed crowd. I showed later and did not want to see the demo via a screen in another room. What was the point of seeing some from TV live to see them on TV? (chuckles). She is in the works of starting her own restaurant in Chicago. http://www.stephanieizard.com/
Stephen from season one seems to be still going strong. http://www.stephenasprinio.com/. He seemed so full of himself the whole time. He did not win, but did not seemed not to care. He always dressed the part of success and talked up his food, maybe too much. We see him in later seasons in Miami owning his own wine shop.
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I heard Ryan Scott on the radio in SF this morning. He and several other SF-based cheftestants are doing a charity event tomorrow (8/27) at Bloomingdales from 5-7.
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On Iron chef America Sunday night, Mark Simmons from season 4 was sous chef for Brad Farmerie. They took on Cat Cora in a Maple battle. Mark seemed very quiet and head down and went to work. They ended up smoking Cora.
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Apparently Fabio is suing a former business partner. According to the suit Fabio and another chef worked their asses off for six months to start the restaurant, and got stiffed out of his salary and the promised cut of the profits. He claims the restaurant's business was grossing $500,000 a year before he was on Top Chef and $4,000,000 after he was on Top Chef.
http://www.tmz.com/2009/09/27/top-che...
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More on Fabio, Gawker is reporting today that Bravo will be giving Fabio his own show:
http://gawker.com/5372183/its-quite-a...
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Good for Fabio - interesting, no mention of the fallout with whoever he was trying to open the restaurant with earlier this year. But "Viviani will also have a show about his business, as he tries to take over California with his charm and accent. " So he's going to try and open his own restaurant?
And Bethany Frankel (from Real Housewives of NYC) will also get her own cooking-type show? "...will showcase her career as a natural foods chef, as well as the Gotham socialite's love life."
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He can call the Restaurant : "Top Scallops", or "Top Fabio".
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I don't have time for the New York housewives, only for watching and mocking the Atlanta ones.
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I saw Carla doing a cooking demo at a local farmer's market yesterday morning. She was well received by the crowd.
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Could you give a location, at least?
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Carla's located in the DC/BWI area, as is dinwiddie, based on various posts shown in his/her profile. So I'd assume Carla would have done the demo close to home.
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Yup -- here's Carla a week later at a DC area farmer's market:
http://www.gazette.net/stories/101320...
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Manuel's - Top Chef Chicago - new restaurant, Travertine, opened a little over a week ago in NYC's Nolita neighborhood.
http://www.travertinenyc.com/
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Read this in Eater.com awhile back and didn't see it mentioned here - Hung is EC at the renamed Anja Bar (formerly Buddha Bar).
http://ny.eater.com/archives/2009/09/...
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http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/photo...
Here is the latest from the Bravo web page. In conjunction with the reunion show.
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That reminded me of a few I wish had been on the reunion show - Dave and Sam.
So it looks like many are doing VERY well for themselves, despite not having won.
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Dale Levitski has a new gig is Chicago...
http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.co...
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And I see he's still working with his "girlfriend" Sarah Nguyen. :-) (The original chef of Sprout had a veal entree dish that cost $120? Holy SMOKES! LOL)
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The other holy smokes thing is that Dale is the third executive chef at this restaurant since it first opened 45 DAYS AGO!
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I wonder if her co-workers call her the "baby of the house" like in Season 3. That, in my opinion, has been one of the most memorable non-food related lines at Judge's Table.
Season 6 might have more seasoned chefs, but the editing this year has really made a good deal of the contestants into cookie cutter personalities. The drama with Robin seem unwarranted too and laced with ageism.
Happy cooking!
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Robin was just on KGOW 1560 am in Houston on the Southbound Food Show. She said the editing was accurate and there was tension in the house toward her. Check out the podcast on their website.
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