Top Chef: where are they now (ongoing)

[Ruth Lafler]

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).

http://gilroygarlicfestival.com/?p=207

[intuitive eggplant]

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...

[youngho]

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.

[LindaWhit]

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?

[Ruth Lafler]

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.

[LindaWhit]

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.

[Pete Oldtown]

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.

[aser]

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.

[Ruth Lafler]

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...

[LindaWhit]

$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

[intuitive eggplant]

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...

[DiningDiva]

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.

[goodhealthgourmet]

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...

[Jacey]

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.

[Ruth Lafler]

Not only is Fabio hosting the Garlic Showdown, but Jamie and Ryan are participating.

[ClaireWalter]

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.

[intuitive eggplant]

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...

[LindaWhit]

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.

[attran99]

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.

[OCAnn]

Looks like after a year, he's leaving:

http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-...

[iFat]

Saw Hung hangin' out at NYC's Highline Park this past weekend...

www.immaculateinfatuation.com

[intuitive eggplant]

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...

[soniabegonia]

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/...

[ChinoWayne]

Spike is getting some free PR from Michelle and Malia Obama: http://gawker.com/5331631/paps-snag-b...

[NellyNel]

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

[aching]

I work near LA Farm and have been several times - the last time, Stefan was right at the front door when I arrived (he mistakenly thought I was interviewing for a job there). I have to admit, it gave me a goofy little thrill to see him in person!

[NellyNel]

Ha!
I know I got giddy when I saw Dale Talde - I imagine, I might embarrass myself if I actually saw Stefan!
**sigh**

[goodhealthgourmet]

blurb about the soft opening for The Gorbals - Ilan Hall's new LA spot:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/daily...

bacon-wrapped matzoh balls? oy.

[KTinNYC]

I wish there was more written about the food then the neighborhood. That article should have been in the real estate section.

[goodhealthgourmet]

i took it as an indication that they couldn't come up with anything positive to say about the food!

[ChinoWayne]

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.

[goodhealthgourmet]

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.

[Caitlin McGrath]

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.

[Ruth Lafler]

Or something out of Harry Potter.

[daveena]

For me, it evokes phlegm. Lots of phlegm.

[ClaireWalter]

Hosea Rosenberg at Steamboat (Colo) Wine Festival earlier this month. http://culinary-colorado.blogspot.com...

[chefbrian1]

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.

[Ruth Lafler]

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.

[littlestevie]

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.

[ChinoWayne]

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...

[ChinoWayne]

More on Fabio, Gawker is reporting today that Bravo will be giving Fabio his own show:

http://gawker.com/5372183/its-quite-a...

[LindaWhit]

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."

[Phaedrus]

He can call the Restaurant : "Top Scallops", or "Top Fabio".

[breadchick]

More Fabio-isms: "we have to sleep on the bunky beds" "my car...is a.... piece of ... poop!" And yes, also my favorite: "this is Top Chef, not Top Scallop."

He's quite charming, and I have to laugh at his good sense of humor. I knew he wouldn't win (although can't for the life of me figure out how Hosea did) but knew he'd be around. Bravo wouldn't let someone like him slip away.

[CapreseStacy]

Don't forget about "Monkey Ass on Clamshell" and the other great quote, which I will butcher here because I'm too lazy to look it up right now about cutting his finger during competition but not letting it slow him down, "sear on flat top to stop bleeding and I cook with nine."

[goodhealthgourmet]

"He's quite charming, and I have to laugh at his good sense of humor. "
~~~~~~~~~~~~
did you read his blog entry after he was eliminated? not so charming.
http://fabioviviani.com/blog/top-chef...

[ChinoWayne]

I don't have time for the New York housewives, only for watching and mocking the Atlanta ones.

[dinwiddie]

I saw Carla doing a cooking demo at a local farmer's market yesterday morning. She was well received by the crowd.

[Reignking]

Could you give a location, at least?

[LindaWhit]

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.

[taos]

Yup -- here's Carla a week later at a DC area farmer's market:

http://www.gazette.net/stories/101320...

[centralpadiner]

Manuel's - Top Chef Chicago - new restaurant, Travertine, opened a little over a week ago in NYC's Nolita neighborhood.

http://www.travertinenyc.com/

[centralpadiner]

Ate there over the weekend, and thought the food was great. If in NYC, check it out!

[LindaWhit]

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/...

[Phaedrus]

http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/photo...

Here is the latest from the Bravo web page. In conjunction with the reunion show.

[LindaWhit]

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.

[LabRat]

Dale Levitski has a new gig is Chicago...

http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.co...

[LindaWhit]

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)

[LabRat]

The other holy smokes thing is that Dale is the third executive chef at this restaurant since it first opened 45 DAYS AGO!

[vinhotinto75]

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!

[James Cristinian]

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.

[LindaWhit]

Looks like Hosea has taken a break from his tryst with Leah - he's got a string of Whole Foods videos:

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/holid...

[Phaedrus]

http://www.ivillage.com/carlas-corner...

Here is the site for Carla Hall's Blog for iVillage.

[LindaWhit]

Hootie Hoo Everyone! ;-)

[OCAnn]

LOL...I was trying to remember who Carla was; the "hootie hoo" really helped.

[goodhealthgourmet]

Zero stars from SIV for Fabio's new place. ouch.
http://www.latimes.com/features/food/...

[hobbess]

That same reviewer gave Ilan Hall's place two stars.

[LindaWhit]

The Voltaggio brothers are going to have an online web series:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/677123

[SDGourmand]

They also have a website www.voltaggiobrothers.com

[LindaWhit]

Yup - that was in my tinyurl link.

[Ruth Lafler]

Nice bit about Carla and Mark Peel in SF this week.

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/foodie/2010...

[LindaWhit]

Ariane's hair looks MUCH shorter in the tweetphoto at Absinthe! And very cute pic of Carla and Hubert Keller. :-)

[Trip Klaus]

Ilan Hall has opened an odd sounding restaurant in LA.

http://www.latimes.com/theguide/resta...

[LindaWhit]

Didn't realize that the LATimes had gotten around to reviewing Gorbals (goodhealthgourmet had posted another link about the soft opening of the restaurant upthread).

[goodhealthgourmet]

Marcel's new LA project - Bar 210 - opens this weekend. the homepage alone makes me never want to set foot in the place...
http://livediabolical.com/

[Caitlin McGrath]

Ew. The text in the intro page is embarrassingly bad, too. PR firm falling down on the job.

[goodhealthgourmet]

you know, i was so turned off by the home page that i never bothered to delve any further into the site!

[Caitlin McGrath]

Believe me, it would only confirm your first impression!

[Reignking]

There was a big Top Chef presence at the Charleston Wine & Food Festival this weekend -- Richard Blais, Kevin Gillespie, Eli Kirshstein, Brian Malarkey and even Ron Duprat...

[Phaedrus]

Here is a stroy on CNN about Kevin Gillespie.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/workli...

[OCAnn]

Thank you for this post; it's good to see that his restaurant is thriving!

[LindaWhit]

Tiffani Faison, from Season 1, has landed back in the Boston area...hired by Michaela Larson and Gary Sullivan to be Rocca's new EC starting today.

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/...

[The Dive]

I had run into her a year or so ago on an Oakland-Boston flight. She said that she had something in the works in the Bay Area, but I guess that didn't pan out.

[ChefJune]

We had a stellar meal at Rocca about three weeks ago. Tiffani's food ROCKS! I have photos from the dinner on my Facebook page.

[LindaWhit]

Has she changed the menu from what it was before she got there? The BDC blog article I linked above said she'd gradually introduce her own stuff.

And I don't do FB (yes, I'm one of those that refuse to join ;-) ). But glad to hear she's doing well! Wasn't particularly enamoured of her on her season, but liked her more in the All-Stars.

P.S. Just looked at the menu and it looks wonderful!

[ChefJune]

It's her menu now.

[goodhealthgourmet]

Blais was on Iron Chef America as Cat Cora's sous chef this past week. he seemed a bit "off," spilling things and looking distressed a lot of the time...but they emerged victorious by a sound margin.

[Caitlin McGrath]

Jamie Lauren is leaving Absinthe to move to LA, though apparently doesn't have a particular restaurant gig lined up - so far, just a relocation, at least that's what she's saying publicly.

[shallots]

Fabio did a two day gig in Knoxville TN at the home show last weekend.

[Trip Klaus]

Casey (Sous Vide Steak) Thompson has opened a restaurant in Ft. Worth.

http://brownstonerestaurants.com/

[Phaedrus]

I wonder if she is going to serve her most famous creation?

[Fukui San]

Slowly chopped onions?

[Phaedrus]

And the aforementioned sou vide steaks.

[dave_c]

Chef Tom C's fave: Coq au Vin

[ChefJune]

I really wanted to like her, but I've always been underwhelmed.

[Ruth Lafler]

That website is includes so many chowhound pet peeves about restaurant websites (not to mention multiple grammatical/word usage errors) it's almost a parody.

[cabking]

Anyone catch Carla Hall on Weekend All Things Considered? http://www.npr.org/templates/story/st...

[OCAnn]

The Top Chef Tour (w/Richard Blais and CJ Jacobson) makes a stop at Irvine's Spectrum tomorrow Thu 06/17/10:

http://www.shopirvinespectrumcenter.c...

Top Chef tour stops:
Los Angeles, Calif. June 14 – 16

Irvine, Calif. June 17

Phoenix, Ariz. June 19

[Coogles]

Radhika Desai is scheduled to perform a cooking demo at the Taste of Chicago on July 1st.

Stephanie Izard's new restaurant is supposed to open by the end of this month. The name had to be changed to "Girl and the Goat" due to a trademark issue with the original name "The Drunken Goat".

[goodhealthgourmet]

just read about Girl & The Goat in F&W Mag, came here to post, and you beat me to it! :)

[LindaWhit]

It looks like it just opened! Video from opening night on 7/26/10 (or maybe she just posted it on 7/26?). Very happy for her!

http://ht.ly/2hsuA

http://www.girlandthegoat.com/

[goodhealthgourmet]

looks like the next big "project" for Ilan Hall isn't food-related:
http://www.slashfood.com/2010/06/29/t...

[FlyerFan]

I thought I caught a fleeting glimpse of Stefan in this season's premiere episode of Entourage...

ETA - Yep, that was him!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3174662/

[goodhealthgourmet]

yep, a couple of us noticed it - we mentioned it on a thread somewhere but i can't remember which one! i thought he was kinda awkward & stiff.

[jenscats5]

What part of the episode was he in? I didn't even notice.....I'll have to go back & watch it again....

[debbiel]

Mike Isabella opening his own restaurant: http://bit.ly/cYyAyF

[jeanmarieok]

I hope he's not serious about serving mostly VA wines. There are so few really good VA wines, and there are so many delicious well priced non-VA wines that it seems a little short sighted.

[reiflame]

Not to mention how overpriced VA wines are.

I'm sure he's saying it for publicity and will actually have a normal wine list.

[bignickpsu]

The latest episode of Unique Eats on the Cooking Channel had at least three familiar faces. Lee Ann and Candice from Season 1 were both commentators and a segment was devoted to the Gorbels, which is Ilan's place.

Pretty cool show. Kind of like a cross between the DDD and Best Thing I Ever Ate. They showcased Rick Bayliss' place, Ilan's, a grilled cheese truck, and a crostini restaurant.

[goodhealthgourmet]

couple of updates:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/7219...

[Siun]

Just catching up but wanted to say I had a wonderful meal at Dale Levitski's Sprout in Chicago last December - great format with a $60 per person three course plus two intermezzo's that was superb. Great feel to the place and genuinely great food.

[goodhealthgourmet]

LA Times reports that Amanda Baumgarten from Top Chef DC is being promoted to Exec Chef at Water Grill...

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/daily...

[aching]

Does this surprise anyone else? She seemed so often to be kind of bumfuzzled on the show (gray tuna, anyone?).

[ediblover]

What I thought when I read it:

"Who's Amanda? Let's see, there was the one that made it to the finals and she isn't an Amanda. The other good one, the one on All Stars, isn't an Amanda either."

*Click on the link*

"What the BLEEP?!"

[Lizard]

Oh I know what you mean, aching! I, too, find television game shows the best criterion for determining professional performance and wish I could convince my colleagues that we revamp our hiring policies accordingly.

[aching]

Well, sarcasm aside, did you actually see the show? Amanda was constantly panicked, indecisive, and confused until she got booted. She really didn't seem like someone you would want in charge of anything. And to me, a chef who doesn't know how to keep tuna tartare from oxidizing doesn't seem like the best choice to run a seafood restaurant. But if you want to hire her, go right ahead.

[aching]

I don't know where the original post went - but anyway, Amanda Baumgarten, who took over the Water Grill in February, just announced her departure. That didn't last long!

[goodhealthgourmet]

and Angelo opened his new spot in NYC:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/09/din...

[Ruth Lafler]

Preeti Mistry has been running a pop-up, lunch only spot in San Francisco. Chowdown report: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/776012

[goodhealthgourmet]

Angelo Sosa has joined us out here in LA, at least temporarily:
http://la.eater.com/archives/2011/03/...

[Ruth Lafler]

Didn't he just (as you post above) open his new place in NYC? Spreading himself a little thin, perhaps?

[goodhealthgourmet]

Spreading himself a little thin, perhaps?
~~~~~~~~~
looks like it - particularly since he hasn't even gotten the Social Eatz website up & running yet. i hope for his sake that he has someone trustworthy and competent to hold down the fort in NY while he's in Malibu, otherwise this new spot may not last much longer than Xie Xie did...

[huiray]

Stephanie Izard named one of F&W's Best New Chefs for 2011:
http://eater.com/archives/2011/04/05/...

[taos]

Stephaie Izard's restaurant Girl & the Goat was nominated for a James Beard award for Best New Restaurant.

http://www.jbfawards.com/2011/pdf/jbf...

[taos]

Also, Yigit Pura will be one of the chefs at the James Beard Awards Gala on May 9.

http://www.jbfawards.com/2011/chefs.php

[LindaWhit]

Tiffani Faison will be opening a BBQ joint on Boylston near the Fenway area in the late summer. She's calling it Sweet Cheeks.

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/...

[goodhealthgourmet]

looks like Jamie Lauren's in the market for a new gig after just 6 months at Beechwood:
http://la.eater.com/archives/2011/06/...

[cwdonald]

Kevin Sbraga just announced that he will be opening a restaurant in Philadelphia. The restaurant will be called Sbraga, and will be about a 65 seat restaurant in Center City Philadelphia.

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/th...

[huiray]

Graffiato's progress: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/a...

[LindaWhit]

"...newfound sex symbol"??????????

Ummm, REALLY?

[huiray]

So it would seem. :-)

[Phaedrus]

"Eez not sexy. Eez aneemel."

Bronson Pinchot

[huiray]

Heh. What is it about Isabella that gets so many of you SO WORKED UP? It's fascinating, the vitriol that gets tossed his way on CH especially from a certain set of posters. :-)

[piccola]

Be careful, or you'll get the whole discussion started again! :)

[LindaWhit]

Vitriol hasn't been thrown in this thread, that I can recall. I'm just stunned at the "newfound sex symbol" - I do believe the writer had a bit of the hyperbolic vapors in writing that. ;-)

Otherwise, he's like nails on a chalkboard for me. I just don't like him and he grates on me. Plain and simple.

[mcf]

I didn't like his strategy, and he sure can be obnoxious, but if his fellow chefs love him, why would I dislike him? I don't; but the thought of him as a sex symbol is still retchworthy. :-)

[rozz01]

+1

[LindaWhit]

ROFLMAO! Phaedrus, you didn't even have to put "Bronson Pinchot" - I would have known that was Balki. ;-)

[LurkerDan]

well, not really Balki, it's Serge. ;-)

[LindaWhit]

Ahh, I had forgotten about Serge. But it's almost the same accent. ;-)

[LurkerDan]

not surprisingly, since it's the same person, and he probably parlayed Serge into Balki.

[mcf]

Nuh UH.

[Pookipichu]

Yow, you could put pantry items on that bubble belly. His body is ridiculous.

[huiray]

Graffiato opened 2 months ago.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/all-we-can-eat/post/mike-isabellas-graffiato-to-open-thursday/2011/06/20/AGBIdrcH_blog.html
http://graffiatodc.com/

Already has more than 600 reviews on Open Table, mostly positive.

3 threads on CH:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/790774
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/795460
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/796995

Apparently the famous pepperoni sauce is being served with chicken thighs and is rated wonderful (or words to that effect) to good but nobody has yet reported fainting from ecstasy. :-)

[Caitlin McGrath]

Four former contestants have books coming out this fall.

In October, "The Sweet Life: Diabetes Without Borders" by Sam Talbot

In October, "VOLT ink.: Recipes, Stories, Brothers" by both Voltaggios

In November, "Girl in the Kitchen: How a Top Chef Cooks, Thinks, Shops, Eats, and Drinks" by Stephanie Izard

[Diana_mn]

Cliff Crooks, the former Top Chef contender who was booted off Season 2 for the infamous "let's shave Marcel's head" incident, appeared in a brief cameo on Hell's Kitchen this week.

The remaining seven Hell's Kitchen boot-camp grunts were taken for a tour of BLT Steak in New York, where the season's winner will allegedly have a job. Cliff was briefly on camera giving them the tour of the kitchen and fielding questions from the grunts about what it's like to work there.

[cwdonald]

10 Arts recently announced Jen Carroll will be leaving the hotel/restaurant in Philadelphia in October. Her next stop is not public yet.

[Withnail42]

I love BLT Steak and all this time Cliff was working there? Never knew.

[goodhealthgourmet]

i can't believe i didn't know that either - my cousin has worked for the company for years, and she knows i'm a TC addict. i'm surprised she never mentioned it.

[mcf]

Three of them just did a Long Island event... http://www.sheckys.com/supper-under-t... Nikki, Angelo and Manuel, who I don't even remember...

[LEsherick2008]

Richard Blais is going to be in Myrtle Beach at the Beach Boogie & BBQ Festival next Saturday September 3rd from 1-4 doing a meet and greet. I am heading to Myrtle Beach that Saturday but I will not get in until 4 or 5 pm at the earliest so I will miss him.

[gaffk]

Here's an update on soon-to-open restaurants from 12 TC alumni.

http://www.zagat.com/buzz/12-upcoming...

[huiray]

Good one, thanks.

[LindaWhit]

Damn, Bryan Voltaggio is shooting for the moon with North Market Kitchen (similar to Batali's Eataly)!

[huiray]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtlaH2...

[LindaWhit]

Thanks! Will watch the entire thing tonight at home - I hope it works out for him!

[centralpadiner]

Sounds amazing! Can't wait to go to Frederick to visit that!

[huiray]

Delay on North Market, but it recently started moving again. Now slated for late 2012.
Bryan V has also just opened (last week) his new Lunchbox near Volt.
On the horizon: Range in Chevy Chase, a meat-centric sort-of bistro.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/all-we-can-eat/post/voltaggios-north-market-kitchen-on-hold/2011/10/11/gIQAwAbicL_blog.html
http://www.washingtonian.com/blogarticles/restaurants/bestbites/21805.html
http://www.voltlunchbox.com/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/g...

[Papuli]

Ilan Hall has a place in Los Angeles, and he's consulting on a new pizza place there, too. In this interview I do like that he admits he has a hard time making pizza dough...but then he goes straight back to pretentiousness by calling eggs "hen eggs." Yes, Ilan. That's what they are.
http://www.kcet.org/socal/food/the-no...

[huiray]

Well, one also eats quail eggs, duck eggs, goose eggs, etc - although I guess folks are less likely to use these in pizza dough...

[Papuli]

He was talking about toppings - and don't you think the default is chicken eggs? Hens, not roosters, as he'll remind you.

[huiray]

Hmm, dunno. I think it'd be an idea to have quail eggs on it; or sliced salt-preserved duck eggs/century duck eggs - depending on what else is on it. :-)

[rozz01]

I have had quail eggs on piza, it was a great addition...

[freia]

But aren't most female birds called hens? Quail hen, pea hen, female geese are called hens. The only one i can think of is a duck, where female ducks are, well, ducks and males are drakes?
I think Ilan is just a wee bit pretentious...
:)

[John E.]

Marcell Vigeron showed up on Episode 6 of TCJD. Apparently he is a friend of one of the contestants. Interestingly enough, the dessrt that won the elimination challenge in that episode won because of a ckicken gravy foam. Did Marcell receive anything but grief over his ubiquitous foams?

Another TC sighting is Fabio Viviani in a Dominoes Pizza television commercial.

http://m.eater.com/archives/2011/09/2...

[LindaWhit]

I saw that Fabio commercial last night. Kind of funny. But funnier still are Fabio's comments on that link that John E. has above.

[huiray]

Review of ink., Michael Voltaggio's place.
http://pleasurepalate.blogspot.com/2011/10/creative-cooking-at-top-chef-winner.html
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/814321

[goodhealthgourmet]

and another fellow Hound's ink. experience:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/819924#6986488
http://endoedibles.com/?p=1365

[John E.]

I don't have an extra 6 hours to read uhockey's thoughts.

[jeanmarieok]

LOL John.

[huiray]

Bryan Voltaggio -

New news:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/6288...

[onrushpam]

I just saw this thread for the first time...
Several months ago Kevin Gillespie did a little "tour" of all the Publix cooking schools. I attended his Tallahassee gig and had a blast! Good food (I've used a couple of the recipes he did). He was very entertaining, yet professional and informative. The event (limited to 48 people) sold out quickly and I think everyone who attended thought it well worth the $70 for 3 courses, plus a lot of good wine and entertainment/education by Kevin. I hope he'll return. I'd certainly do another one.

[Westy]

Whatever happened to the contestant Sam (drat, forgot his last name). I recall he was a really good cook, and did a knock-out job on a Rat Pack dinner, but then got cut. Seemed like on of the few contestants who was just a really good guy who could cook.

[huiray]

http://www.samtalbot.com/

[Phaedrus]

Karla Hall just said on Facebook that she is going on one of her trips that she won on TC. I think it is Amsterdam.

[Withnail42]

what ever happened to Sarah(Miami season?) who wanted to make cheese?

[SeoulQueen]

Brian Malarky from Season 3 is doing very well down for himself as he creates a mini food empire in San Diego. I was there over the holidays and had an excellent lunch at his highly successful restaurant Searsucker, located in the downtown Gaslamp district. He and his financial backer also opened another restaurant called Burlap a few months ago and I believe their 3rd venture called Gingham was supposed to have opened on New Years Eve with a 4th one called Gabardine scheduled to open Feb 2012.

[LindaWhit]

OMG, I thought this was a *very* early April Fool's Day joke, SQ, but you're not kidding! And there's yet another opening in April, 2012 in La Jolla: Herringbone. :-D

http://lajolla.patch.com/articles/gol...

[SeoulQueen]

Geez I guess Tweed and Plaid aren't too far behind! Lol. And if the theme is fabrics shouldn't it be seersucker? I agree the names are a bit contrived but based on my impression of San diego i think a lot of folks down there will think the names are cute. Honestly though, the saandwiches my husband and I had at seersucker were very good and the decor was nice (yet another copy of Tom colicchio's Craft with Edison light bulbs etc).

[John E.]

The fabric names for the restaurants are less whimsical than are just weird. If they were going to have fun with the names the first restaurant should have been named Malarky with the others named Hooey, Hogwash, and Hokum.

[LindaWhit]

♥ :::LIKE:::. :-)

And don't forget Balderdash!

[John E.]

I thought of that but there is a board game with that name and it is likely trademarked. How about Mumbo Jumbo?

[LindaWhit]

Nah - Balderdash the Restaurant and Balderdash the Game cannot be confused by the public.

But let's say that word is TMed - what about Twaddle? Or Bunk?

[huiray]

Not sure why folks here are mocking him so much. He may not have been your favorite contestant on Top Chef but he does appear to have gained much success in real life in San Diego. :-) Numerous local awards for seafood, named "Best Local Chef", appears to have helmed the SD Oceanaire competently (and which was NOT included in Oceanaire's reorganizational closings), his new place Searsucker apparently has been named #2 in Open Tables top ten hot list [http://wineanddineusa.com/sandiego/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=338:searsucker-gets-more-national-recognition-snagging-2-slot-in-time-mags-list-of-hotspots&catid=65:restaurant-news] and so on. ;-)

Oh, BTW his newest venture will be named "Spandex". http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs...

[John E.]

My intent was not mockery, except for mocking the fabric names of the restaurant. I always liked Malarky on Top Chef (except for the hats, he was dangerously close to Evangelos Mendelsohn territory with the hats). I think that if they are not going to be 'normal' with the restaurant names they should have some fun with his name. The restaurant names remind me of the old Helen Keller joke about what was her favorite color....corduroy.

[Squint]

Brian Malarky was on Top Chef before Spike Mendelsohn (I think Spike was the following season?). Wouldn't that mean Malarky began the trend of wearing hats with Spike copying him?

[John E.]

The hat is what Mendelsohn is known for even more than his food which if I were him would consider that to be a problem. I was merely making a Top Chef reference to two chefs that wore hats, one of whom wore them more than the other.

You are correct, Malarkey was TC 3 while Mendelsohn was TC 4. I liked Malarky on his season and disliked Mendelsohn on his. (Wait, that's too strong, I guess I was ambivalent about him).

[LindaWhit]

As John E. said - not mocking HIM. The restaurant names, however, are a bit "out there." And your last link - you might want to note that it's subheading is "Almost Factual News". :-)

Some other "almost factual news" stories written by Mencken: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs...

[huiray]

:-)
I was wondering if you would notice that. ;-) Besides, opening 74 restaurants nationwide? Heh. Why, that's more than six times the number of remaining Oceanaires still around!

[LindaWhit]

LOL Notice it I did. Because *I* almost posted it as the next restaurant name as well....until I realized even *he* wouldn't be that stupid and I saw that "Almost Factual News" subheader. :-)

[gaffk]

Looks like Dale Talde opened a restaurant in NY this month.

http://www.chow.com/restaurants/924356/talde

Seems well-received by local CHers.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/829033

[NellyNel]

Oh - I just looked at the menu - I am SO there!!

[NellyNel]

I finally did get to Talde - I was really impressed!

The food is tasty and very clever.

Dale was there, and he seemed really cool!
I couldnt believe how laid back he was - if you didnt know him - he might have been the dishwasher!
Yet, he was walking around and chatting, and seemed genuinely interested to know how people liked the food. Very personable in a genuine way.

I must admit, I was kind of giddy seeing him, and he is very good looking!

See my very long reveiw: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/829033

[iL Divo]

why can't I remember who Dale was? can't pix him in my mind.
was he the chef that Michael Chirarello challenged to call him Chef on top chef masters?

[huiray]

He was the one who threw a tantrum in front of and at Michael Chiarello, yes - but it resulted from Chiarello calling him "young man" when he (MC) tried to reclaim the fridge he had previously marked off for his stuff (and that Dale Talde commandeered).

He was the one who "didn't like himself" when he reviewed how he he had comported himself on his season (season 4) of TC and took anger management classes. (As he reported) He was challenged by a rapper-wannabe-spewing Marcel Vigneron on the rooftop that night after the dim-sum challenge in TC All Stars when he (Talde) walked away whereas if he were his former self they probably would have had a physical fight. He was the one who made sandwiches using irons - y'know, the ones you normally use for ironing clothes - in the ridiculous night-time challenge in that Target store (and won in that EC) in that same TC All Stars season. He was also the one who compared Angelo Sosa to a mermaid on the fishing boat out at Montauk during TC AS.

[Ruth Lafler]

IIRC what was so obnoxious about Chiarello was that he demanded that each of his assistants demonstrate that they could pronounce his name correctly.

[huiray]

Yes, that was one of the "sticking points" about him - but the stuff about Dale Talde and him referred to by iL Divo didn't involve that directly.

FWIW I thought his "name-pronouncement demand" was ill-advised but did not think it was that obnoxious. In a general sense I think the context of it was not any more outrageous than another person not from an Anglo-Saxon heritage requesting that folks try to pronounce his non-Anglo-Saxon name correctly.

[piccola]

As someone with a hard-to-pronounce name, I sympathise with him on this. It's really disheartening when people you work with day after day don't say your name right, even months later.

[iL Divo]

huiray....fascinated with your paragraph that ended in commandeered.

that's who I thought it was. plus agree the term 'young man' can seem condescending especially if you toss in expecting everyone to refer to him (MC) as chef AND thinks all should have previously learned the correct pronunciation of his (MC's) last name. talk about coming across as super ego 'puffed up chest' man.

a previous comment from someone: about finding him quite attractive confused me only because I'm not attracted to people with anger issues. I mentally run away from them and for me it makes no difference if they're nice looking they instantly become not so when cussing swearing profanity is all they can muster.

you have a terrific memory about the details that have all but faded to me. honestly I liked Marcel during that TC season and thought he constantly received the cr@p from seemingly everyone. I also think there was a lot of Marcel being a royal pain in the @rs that we viewers never saw and perhaps he deserved what he got. who knows? I wasn't there.......

[goodhealthgourmet]

he's got another project in the works...
http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2012/02...

[LindaWhit]

"Very mullet-friendly". LOL

[Ruth Lafler]

Ryan Scott, who has had a segment on the KGO morning news for a while now, now has a regular talk show slot on Saturday afternoons. http://www.kgoam810.com/showdj.asp?DJ...

[soupkitten]

heather terhune, the despised "villain" from this past season, appeared on nick stellino's program on pbs, cooking arctic char. top chef fans may want to rethink their charitable donations

;-P

[huiray]

That episode appears to be from when HT was at Atwood Cafe, some time ago, whereas she has been at Sable for a little while now.
http://www.nickstellino.com/video.asp...

In any case, she seems unable to stir her ingredients properly, just swishing them inefficiently in only the bottom half of her pan, until about 3:20 into the video. Heh. Then, she also uses ketchup - commercial ketchup at that...(gasp)...not very "Farm-to-Table-ish", I think... :-). Then what about the pineapple and mango she used in great quantity in her "salad" - I thought she had a thing or two about "Asian food" ?

;-) :-P

[soupkitten]

oh, yeah? i didn't actually see the ep, just recognized her face during the credits of another show in the series.

[mcf]

Zagat blog reports on TC's most worthy cheftestant's restaurants: http://blog.zagat.com/2012/03/which-t...

Oh, my! Just how gorgeous is that plate from Uchiko??

[rozz01]

I've always wanted to go to Sprout, the online menu just sucks me in.

[huiray]

This tid-bit concerning Lindsay Autry (Season 9 - Texas) does not seem to have been posted here yet: http://www.gossipextra.com/2012/01/25...

[mcf]

Noted this: "Autry, 29, whose good-looking foods and good looks have made her a fan favorite on the pre-recorded current season of the Bravo hit reality series..."

HUH? She's okay looking when not scowling, but, HUH? Fan favorite? As IF.

[LindaWhit]

Regardless of how she looks, this Greene guy seems like a complete tool. I'm glad she walked and Michelle Bernstein is severing ties with the organization. I'm all for making money, but when you treat staff like crap as he seems to do all over the place (I read the comments section), NO amount of money is worth it.

[Caitlin McGrath]

Stephanie Izard and Paul Qui are 2012 James Beard Award finalists in their respective regions: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03...

[huiray]

So is Edward Lee, in the Southeast Region. Wouldn't it be delicious if he won over Hugh Acheson, also a finalist in that region? :-)

[James Cristinian]

I never liked smug Edward Lee, I'm pulling for Paul all the way in his region. I'd like to see a Texan win given the vitriol pointed to the state by some. :-)

[Frosty Melon]

Bravo's announced an upcoming new series seemingly taking after this thread:

“Life After Top Chef”
For the first time cameras are taken outside of the Top Chef kitchen and into the lives of Bravo’s most beloved former cheftestants as they reach milestones in their personal lives and culinary careers. From opening their own restaurants to expanding their growing franchises, viewers will follow Jen Carroll in Philadelphia, Richard Blais in Atlanta, Fabio Viviani in Los Angeles, and Spike Mendelsohn in D.C.

[d8200]

Spike a "beloved cheftestant?" That is an exaggeration. I'm not surprised that he'll be on this show, I don't think he's turned down a media opportunity...ever.

[Phaedrus]

They need at least one villain.

[LikestoEatout]

You can add Fabio and Richard to the list of media hogs, they pop up all over.

[John E.]

Why use the pejorative 'hogs'? Also, I would not put Richard in the same category as Fabio. Richard has had a couple of TV shows and I do not think Fabio has done anything except internet food demonstrations and a pizza commercial.

[huiray]

Re: Fabio Viviani - I still remember his skeevy and nasty recaps on his blog of TC All Stars, especially towards and at the end of his "stay" on the show. They changed my opinion of him and I haven't seen/heard/read anything yet since then to alter my opinion for the better.

[John E.]

I remember people posting stuff about that hear but I did not read any of it. I mostly just watch the show and then read and post here with the occasional TC blog and/or Eaters column/story.

[mcf]

It was really, REALLY ugly. I already thought he was a self aggrandizing, thin skinned DigMe, but that showed how petty and spiteful he was, too.

[John E.]

"hear"??!! Now were the hell did that come from?

[mcf]

I don't know how old you are, but ever since I got over 50, I've been misspelling all the homophones.

[John E.]

You unknowingly brought up something kind of ironic. Last deer season while sitting on a deer stand with no deer in sight I started a homophone collection. I know, it's a bit weird, but I started a list of homophones. It's amazing how many there are. The only rule I have is that I cannot search for them on the internet just what I come up with day to day. So far I have 127 on my list. It's a lot cheaper than collecting coins or stamps.

[mcf]

It'll be our secret. So far, I misspell its/it's, their/there, hear/here... and I used to be a flawless, champion level speller.

[Phaedrus]

He is prolific in his twitter feed and he has a presence on the web, doing cooking videos and presenting recipes and generally promotes his website and restaurant. He hasn't been too outrageous in any of that. He is pretty ubiquitous on the web.

[John E.]

Are you referring to Fabio or Richard?

[Phaedrus]

Fabio.

[d8200]

If you read any or all of the popular food magazines, Fabio is all over those. Random events like "Cooking demonstration at the Poughkeepsie Mall this Saturday starring Top Chef Contestant Fabio Viviani! Come get his autograph!" Also in those ads with pictures from various trade shows or snobby elitist food/wine events Fabio is in all of them. It's like Where's Waldo. I can even hear his voice: "Where's-a FAAAA-bio theees-a week, eh?" Oh there he is at the Las Vegas Food & Wine Fest, with his arms around Jacques Pepin and Thomas Keller. Look! There he is again, clinking champagne flutes with Tim Love!

[mcf]

I guess he's busy trying to look busy and important.

[linus]

yes, as opposed to feeding the starving in darfur and working on that HIV cure and revising the tax code like all...the...other...chefs...oh, wait...never mind.

[rozz01]

Dale and Chuy

http://articles.redeyechicago.com/201...

[LindaWhit]

Last comment by Chuy is funny:

What people say when they recognize him on the street: “They always ask me: Padma or Gail?” he said. And? “Oh, I would pick Gail. I like ’em thick like a milkshake. I don’t like no bag a’ bones … That’s what Padma is – too bony. Gail is such a sweetheart. She’s so sincere, she’s so humble, so nice, you know, very personable … She’s Canadian, you know?”

[gaffk]

Well everybody knows that all Canadians are sincere and humble and personable.

[freia]

Thank you! We certainly are!
:)

[LindaWhit]

I was talking about the "thick like a milkshake" comment. :-)

[rozz01]

I dunno... I've known some pretty wirey Canadians... oh wait, i guess they were NewFi's

[gaffk]

That reminded me of a very vulgar comment I heard from two men discussing a thick woman.

[Phaedrus]

reminds me of the Spinal Tap song.

[kmcarr]

"thick like a milkshake" is my new favorite phrase for 2012.