A New Interview with Floyd Cardoz

Chef Floyd talks to Downtown NYC magazine about his new restaurant, North End Grill.

Click here for the full story.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Cook Like a Top Chef - Sarah Grueneberg's and Floyd Cardoz' Seared Fish with Coconut Curry

The recipes on Top Chef are often so complicated that it's difficult for the home cook to recreate them exactly. I tend to take liberties with just about every recipe I encounter anyway, so it made sense for me to tinker with this recipe, too.

The whole reason I decided to try the dish that won Sarah Grueneberg a Quickfire Challenge in the Top Chef Texas finale was because I happened to have fish, coconut milk, and shallots in the house. There was also a lone orange in the fridge. As I started cooking the dish, I decided that the rather mild-seeming coconut sauce could use a little more zip, so I dug through the cupboard for my little baggie of vadouvan, a type of curry seasoning that I first heard about when Jamie Lauren used it to spice a carrot purée way back on Top Chef season five. With the addition of the vadouvan, I could hold back on the excessive amount of turmeric (4 tablespoons!) called for in the recipe, and I also halved the amount of coriander. And since I had to peel the orange that would essentially be a garnish, I tossed a strip of it into the sauce to add extra flavor.

Needless to say, I did not have a Dungeness crab hanging around (this is Maryland! Such alien creatures are not allowed!), nor did I have any other crustaceans on hand, so I skipped the crab salad part. Now that I look back on my recap for that particular episode, I see that the judges felt this dish needed more acid; even if I couldn't make the salad, I should have added a squirt of lime or two. The finished dish was a bit on the mild side, although it was quite tasty. And, surprisingly, easy to prepare.

Seared Fish with Coconut Curry (inspired by this dish from the Top Chef 9 finale part 2)

1 naval orange
Extra virgin olive oil, as needed
1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into coins
2 whole shallots, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons roughly chopped coriander stems
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 tablespoon coriander
1 teaspoon vadouvan or regular curry powder
1 can coconut milk
2 8-oz mahi mahi fillets, halved
4 asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 1" segments
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons bias-cut green onion
Cilantro
Salt and black pepper, as needed

With a vegetable peeler, cut a 1" x 3" long piece of orange rind, scraping off the pith if necessary, and set aside. Peel the rest of the orange and cut into supremes. Set aside.

In a medium sauce pot, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil, add ginger, shallots, and coriander stems and sweat for 10 minutes. Then stir in turmeric, coriander, and vadouvan. Top with coconut milk, add strip of orange peel, and simmer on low for 10 minutes, strain and set aside. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a medium pan, heat 4 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Season mahi with salt and pepper. Cook fish on both sides a total of 8 minutes, finish the pan with butter.

Remove fish and add asparagus pieces, cook for 2 minutes.

Place a pool of coconut sauce on a plate, place fish on top. Scatter asparagus and orange segments around the plate. Garnish with green onion and cilantro.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Reactions to Top Chef Texas Finale Part Two

The endless road show that is Top Chef Texas takes its act to Vancouver. After checking into the Fairmont Hotel, the remaining cheftestants headed over to Chinatown and the Bao Bei restaurant. There they were greeted by Padma and Emeril Lagasse, along with Top Chef Masters Anita Lo, Floyd  Cardoz, and Takashi Yagihashi. The cheftestants drew knives to be paired up with a master. Lindsay drew Anita Lo; Sarah drew Floyd Cardoz, and Paul drew Takashi Yagihashi. The Quickfire was to create an Asian-inspired dish in 40 minutes, but the cheftestant had to alternate cooking chores with his Top Chef Master every 10 minutes.

The Masters go first, setting up a dish that they hope their partners can follow. After 40 minutes of back and forth, the chefs present their dishes. The team of Sarah and Floyd Cardoz take the win with a pan-seared cod in a curry sauce. Sarah walked away with $20,000, bringing her total for the competition to $30,000, all of which was won in Canada.

For the Elimination Challenge, the three chefs had to prepare a dish and a cocktail for 150 guests at a Fire and Ice Cocktail Party. The dish had to incorporate a fiery element and a cold element. They had 45 minutes to shop with a budget of $1,500 and five hours to cook. The winner of the challenge would win a trip for two to Costa Rica.

Paul's King Crab in Lobster Broth was well received, but Tom felt the arugula was an afterthought. Taking a second chance with halibut, Lindsay was more successful this time, pairing it with celery root remoulade and tomato ice. However, her kale was raw and her cocktail (a spin on a Bloody Mary) seemed flat. Sarah made cannelloni with five greens over which she put a frozen spicy mousse that was supposed to melt and create a sauce. Unfortunately, the anti-griddle made the mousse too hard and it never melted. Despite Sarah's mishap with the mousse, she was allowed to stay on for the finale. Paul won the challenge and Lindsay was sent packing.

So what did you think? Should Lindsay have been the one to go? Was Paul the stand out? Share your thoughts below.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

TC News and Information 9.12.11

This week’s Willy Wonka episode of Just Desserts rated inclusion by producers The Magical Elves in their top 10 list of favorite episodes of all the shows they’ve produced, saying it “may be the ultimate episode of Just Desserts. . . ." Click through the slide show for the 9 others, many of which I’m sure our readers will recall.

Have you been reading Just Desserts Season 1 winner Yigit Pura’s Bravo blog about this season? You can also find him “half-naked and sugar-coated,” Yigit says, in a calendar for Meals on Wheels, one of his favorite charities. You can glimpse him in the right-hand sidebar, or purchase one, here.

Were you as glad as I was to see TC Masters contestant Hugh Acheson as guest judge on last week’s episode? He’ll be back as one of the judges on TC9: Texas with Emeril Lagasse, reports Entertainment Weekly.

Frequent TC judge Eric Ripert’s Le Bernadin recently reopened and Feast has before, during, and after videos about the restaurant’s renovation. Meanwhile, Ripert protégé and TC All-Star Jen Carroll has announced she is leaving Ripert’s 10 Arts restaurant in Philly, according to Grub Street.

Three Top Chef chefs make the New York Times list of this fall’s most hotly anticipated restaurants: Masters 3 winner Floyd Cardoz’s North End Grill, Season 3 winner Hung Huynh’s Catch, and All Star contestant Dale Talde’s Talde.

Those Voltaggio brothers are busy too. They have a new cookbook coming out, and Michael’s long-promised LA restaurant Ink. (reported here to be opening in late September) has been upstaged by his new sandwich shop, Ink.Sack, which opened recently a few doors down. LA Weekly’s Jonathan Gold reports here. Yum Sugar has a great video interview with Michael Voltaggio here about his numerous new ventures.

All-Stars winner Richard Blais tells Eater his wife came up for the name of his next restaurant, The Spence, slated to open in winter 2012. He’s also a finalist for Restaurateur of the Year from the Georgia Restaurant Association. Winners will be announced in November.

All-Star Casey Thompson has teamed up with Sam’s Club and is eyeing new opportunities in Napa, according to this interview with Eater. Dale Levitski has been enlisted by Sam’s Club too.

Here's a report of Season 4 of Top Chef Masters filming in Vegas (scroll down to the second paragraph under The Scene and Heard).

Finally, if you’ve ever dreamed of being on Top Chef, you have something in common with Marge Simpson, reports Zap2It. Tom Colicchio will appear in animated form on The Simpsons season premiere on FOX September 25. Is it just me, or does this rendering look more like Hosea Rosenberg?


Posted on AllTopChef.com

TC News and Information 6.27.11

I'm back from vacation, and our Top Chef contestants have been all kinds of busy!

Tre Wilcox's Marquee Grill has opened in Dallas, and you can drool over some fabulous photos of Tre's offerings here.

Mike Isabella opened his Jersey/Italian restaurant, Graffiato, last week, which will serve pizzas, pastas, charcuterie, and that pepperoni sauce from Top-Chef All-Stars that made Gail Simmons swoon. Photos from Eater DC here; menus and more from the Washington Post here.

Isabella is also working on a cookbook about New Jersey Italian food, with his wife honcho-ing the test kitchen and blogger Carol Blymire as writer. Blymire is an entertaining writer known for cooking her way through cookbooks by Thomas Keller, French Laundry at Home, and Grant Achatz, Alinea at Home, as well as some well played April Fool's jokes. But this is apparently the real deal.

Season 1’s Tiffani Faison has announced plans to open a new BBQ restaurant in Boston called “Sweet Cheeks” and is touring the South for inspiration.

All-Stars winner Richard Blais has all kinds of culinary irons in the fires, including expanding his Flip Burger Boutique chain to DC and Miami, opening a gourmet hot dog restaurant, HD or Haute Doggery, in Atlanta, and a yet-to-be-named restaurant in midtown Atlanta featuring “simple American food that tastes great.”

Another All-Stars contender, Dale Talde, will be head chef at a “New Asian” restaurant in Brooklyn’s Park Slope that hopes to open by September.

Season 3 winner Hung Huynh is slated to help open a Manhattan “seafood restaurant and lounge” called Catch.

Bryan Voltaggio is working on opening two new restaurants, in Frederick, Maryland, and Chevy Chase Plaza, as well as collaborating on a cookbook with brother Michael. His Frederick restaurant, tentatively called North Market Kitchen, is inspired by Mario Batali’s Eataly in NYC, or maybe not.

And don’t miss this fascinating piece from Ruth Reichl about her experience as judge on Top Chef Masters, from her new desk at Gilt Taste, about why she was surprised a woman didn't win and still loves Floyd Cardoz's food.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

All Top Chef Interview with Floyd Cardoz

Top Chef Masters Season 3 Champion, Floyd Cardoz talks about his experience on the Bravo show.

Click here for the podcast.

Thank you Chef Floyd!

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Top Recipe - Floyd Cardoz's Rendang

Rendang 2 Ways: Oxtail & Short Ribs Tapioca Pilaf with Diced Potato & Peanuts

NGREDIENTS
Oxtail:
10 small pieces oxtail
Salt, to taste
1/4 cup sliced lemon grass
1 knob ginger, minced
1/2 cup minced shallots
1 Serrano chili
1 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoons coriander
One 2 inch piece of Pasilla de Oaxaca
1/2 teaspoons turmeric
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 inches Indian cinnamon
5 cloves
4 lime leaves
1 cup sliced shallots
6 cloves garlic
1 inch galangal sliced into coins
2 sticks lemon grass cleaned and lightly crushed
2 pandan leaves
4 cups coconut milk
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups water
1 teaspoons tamarind paste
1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 sprigs rosemary
1 Thai chili
1/2 cup fried minced shallots
1/2 cup ground cashews

Short Ribs:
10 pieces short ribs
Salt, to taste
1/4 cup sliced lemon grass
1 knob ginger, minced
1/2 cup minced shallots
1 Serrano chili
1 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoons coriander
One 2 inch piece of Pasilla de Oaxaca
1/2 teaspoons turmeric
1/8 teaspoons cayenne
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 inches Indian cinnamon
5 cloves
6 cups veal stock
6 cloves garlic
1 inch galangal sliced into coins
4 lime leaves
2 pandan leaves
4 cups coconut milk
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups water
1 teaspoons tamarind paste
1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 sprigs rosemary
1 Thai chili
1/2 cup fried minced shallots 2 sticks lemon grass leaned and lightly crushed
1/2 cup ground cashews

Tapioca Polenta:
1 1/2 cups pearl tapioca
1/3 cup canola oil
1 1/2 tablespoons brown mustard seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons cumin seeds
3/4 cup salted peanuts, coarsely crushed
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1 Serrano chili, minced
1 1/2 tablespoon finely chopped and peeled fresh ginger
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup sliced spinach
3 tablespoons thinly shredded cilantro
1 lime, juiced
Salt

Oxtail:
1. Season the oxtail with salt and let stand for 10-15 minutes.
2. Combine the sliced lemon grass, minced ginger, sliced shallots and Serrano chili in a food processor and processor till finely chopped.
3. Grind the cumin, coriander and the Pasilla de Oaxaca in a spice grinder to a fine powder and combine with the turmeric and the cayenne.
4. In a large stew pot add the canola oil and the ground shallot mix and cook over moderate heat stirring for 15 minutes until paste get slightly colored and releases some oil.
5. Add the cinnamon, cloves and ground spice and cook for 2-4 minutes. Add oxtail and all the other ingredients (except cashews) and bring up to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer slowly until almost done. Test with fork. Stir occasionally.
6. Add the cashews and put into a 325 degree oven and cook. Letting the liquid reduce slowly. Baste the oxtail every 5 minutes.
7. The liquid will reduce and form a glaze on meat. At this time to the fat will start to separate.
8. Pull out the cinnamon, cloves, galangal and lemon grass.
9. Plate and top cashews.

Short Ribs:
1. Pre heat oven to 400 degrees at convection setting.
2. Season the short ribs with salt and let stand for 10-15 minutes. Reduce heat in oven to 325.
3. Combine the sliced lemon grass, minced ginger, sliced shallots and Serrano chili in a food processor and processor till finely chopped.
4. Grind the cumin, coriander and the Pasilla de Oaxaca in a spice grinder to a fine powder and combine with the turmeric and the cayenne.
5. Place seasoned short ribs in oven and sear until golden brown. Approximately 15 minutes.
6. In a large stew pot add the canola oil and the ground shallot mix and cook over moderate heat stirring for 15 minutes until paste get slightly colored and releases some oil.
7. Add the cinnamon, cloves and ground spice and cook for 2-4 minutes. Add short ribs and all the other ingredients (except cashews) and bring up to a boil.
8. Place the pot with a lid in the oven and continue to cook until fork tender.
9. Cool down in liquid.
10. Next day remove form liquid and trim short ribs of any fat and gristle.
11. Reduce the brasage until thick.
12. Add the cashews stir. Place the short ribs in the pan and put into a 325 degree oven and cook. Letting the liquid reduce slowly. Baste the short ribs every 5 minutes.
13. The liquid will reduce and form a glaze on meat. At this time to the fat will start to separate.
14. Pull out the cinnamon, cloves, galangal and lemon grass.
15. Plate and top with cashews.

Tapioca Polenta:
1. Put the tapioca in a bowl and wash in several changes of cold water from the tap unless the water loses its murkiness and remains clear. Soak the tapioca in fresh cold water to cover 8 hours.
2. Drain the tapioca in a sieve and spread on a tray laid with a paper towel. Refrigerate the drained tapioca at least 1 hour.
3. Heat the oil in an 8-quart pot over moderately high heat until shimmering and add the mustard seeds. When the seeds being to pop, which will be almost immediately, add the cumin seeds and stir.
4. Add the peanuts, shallots, Serrano, ginger and increase the heat to high. Cook the mixture, stirring, for 1 minute.
5. Stir in the butter and when melted, add the tapioca and salt to taste. Cook until the tapioca is heated through (3-4 minutes). Add the spinach and continue to cook until the tapioca turns transparent.
6. Turn off the heat.
Just before serving, stir the lime and cilantro into the pilaf and season with salt.

© 2011 CHEF FLOYD CARDOZ
Posted on AllTopChef.com

Congratulations, Chef Floyd Cardoz!

After being asked to create the meal of a lifetime, one which encompassed his first food memory, the dish that made him want to become a chef, and a dish chosen by critic James Oseland, Chef Floyd Cardoz pulled off the ultimate win. And this was despite losing time in LA traffic in order to source all of the ingredients he needed for his meal! His rendition of Rendang, an Indonesian dish, done two ways with short ribs and oxtails, was probably the clincher, since Oseland seemed fairly rapturous while eating.



Congratulations to Chef Floyd Cardoz and to his charity, Young Scientist Cancer Research Fund!

This post is only for positive comments about Chef Cardoz and his dishes. If you have anything negative to say, please do so here.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Reactions to the Top Chef Masters 3 Finale

This week's finale episode of Top Chef Masters season 3 had the three finalists - Floyd Cardoz, Mary Sue Milliken, and Traci DesJardins - creating a three course meal based on three criteria. The first course needed to draw from an early food memory. The second course needed to reference the meal that made each contestant want to be a chef. Finally, the third course had to be based on a specific memory from one of the Critics. After drawing knives, Mary Sue finds that Ruth Reichl would love a lemon soufflé, Traci needs to make a memorable duck and Bernaise dish for Gael Greene, and Floyd has to recreate a spicy Indonesian rendang for James Oseland.

To aid them in this task, the chefs are assigned sous chefs with whom they are very comfortable, namely their own chefs from their restaurants.

Off for shopping, which is not limited to Whole Foods.With only 8 hours combined to shop and prep, Mary Sue plays it safe and buys all of her ingredients from Whole Foods. Floyd, on the other hand, needs to rush all over LA to source his ingredients and gets stuck in traffic. So while Mary Sue and Traci are cooking away in the Top Chef Masters kitchen, Floyd is nowhere to be found. Eventually he shows up with a mere 3 hours to spare - and two types of meat to braise to tenderness in that short time.

The next day, they are taken by car to a mysterious location, which turns out to be a house near the Hollywood Hills where Curtis Stone is waiting to make them breakfast. Afterwards, fueled by mimosas, they head back to the TCM kitchen to cook for another two hours.

While it seems they all have some issues in the kitchen -  Traci is not happy with the quality of her duck, Mary Sue is forced to use liquid nitrogen to make her lemon ice cream, Floyd's fish was badly butchered - they somehow all make it work.

When the Critics arrive, we see they've brought Danyelle Freeman, Alan Sytsma, and Tom Colicchio, plus former TCM contestants Jonathan Waxman, Susan Feniger, Rick Moonen, Jody Adams, and Susur Lee along to dine with them.

For the first course, Floyd serves an upma (semolina) polenta with wild mushrooms, Mary Sue brings out an Asian-style steak tartare, and Traci does a shrimp creole, all based on early food memories.

For the second course, Floyd made a rice-flake coated snapper, Mary Sue has shrimp two ways, and Traci offers a quail salad with sweetbreads.

Finally, for the third course, Floyd offers his rendang two ways (shortribs and oxtail) with tapioca pilaf, Mary Sue brings her lemon soufflé, and Traci has a duo of duck.

While the critics nitpick most of the dishes, Mary Sue's soufflé is faultless, and Floyd's rendang is highly praised. Traci's duck dish doesn't evoke the proper memories for Gael Greene, however, so it looks like she's out of the competition at that point.

Just when it seems that Mary Sue has it in the bag, Curtis announces that the winner is Floyd! Perhaps a surprise, but a pleasant one.

So what did you all think about this episode? Please tell us in the comments!

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Top Recipe - Floyd Cardoz's Buffalo Meatball

Buffalo Meatball, Farro, Spinach, Cheese, Tomato Sauce & Asparagus

Meatballs:
4 packs ground bison
2 large sweet onions, diced
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced chili pepper
4 Roma tomatos diced
1 teaspoons black pepper
Salt
2 cloves, ground fine
1/4 inch cinnamon ground fine
1 cup minced cilantro

Sauce:
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon mustard
1 tablespoon cumin
2 cloves
Salt
1/4 teaspoons cayenne
1 two inch piece of Pasilla de Oaxaca chilies
2 tablespoons tamarind pate
2 cups diced tomato
1 cup mint cut in thick strips
2 cups onion diced
6 cloves garlic minced
2 inches minced ginger

Paneer Cheese:
3/4 gallon non-fat milk
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 cup champagne vinegar
Salt and pepper

Farro:
1 cup farro
3 cups chicken stock
1 bay leave
1 clove
1 inch peeled sliced ginger
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 small sprig rosemary

DIRECTIONS
Meatballs:
1. In a large sauté pan heat the onions over moderate heat and cook until tender. Cool for approximately 15 minutes.
2. Combine all the above ingredients and mix well. Form into meatballs. Flash fry in very hot oil so meat gets golden and seared. Pat dry with paper towels. Lay on a cookie sheet and cook in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.

Sauce:
1. Heat the oil and add the whole spices and bloom. Add the onions, garlic and ginger.
2. Cook till transparent. Add tomatoes and tamarind and cook for 30 minutes. Add cayenne and sugar if needed
3. Finish with mint

Paneer Cheese:
1. Heat milk to almost boiling. Add salt, turmeric and vinegar
2. When milk boils, whisk for 1-2 minutes more
3. Strain in a cheese cloth discard liquid and pour cold water to cool.

Asparagus:
1. Cut the base of the asparagus at the point it is beginning to turn purple.
2. Blanch asparagus in boiling salted water.

Farro:
1. Dry toast the farro in a small stew pot.
2. Add the ginger, garlic, rosemary, clove, and bay leaf toast for 2 minutes more.
3. Add the stock, salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Cover and season with Salt and pepper

© 2011 CHEF FLOYD CARDOZ

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Congratulations, Chef Floyd Cardoz!

In this week's Elimination Challenge, the chefs had to lighten up some favorite - and high-calorie - dishes of contestants on The Biggest Loser. Chef Cardoz was assigned a meatball sub, and he delivered a version that had everyone smacking their lips in enjoyment.


Chef Cardoz - it's good to see you win a big challenge like this, and your charity now has an additional $10K in its coffers. Congratulations, and we hope you continue to have success in this competition.

This post is only for positive comments about Chef Cardoz and his dishes. If you have anything negative to say, please do so here.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Meet the Masters - Floyd Cardoz

Floyd Cardoz is the Executive Chef of the forthcoming restaurant from Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group. Before embarking on this new restaurant, Cardoz was the executive chef of Tabla, a groundbreaking restaurant that served New Indian cuisine cooked with the sensual flavors and spices of his native land. With Cardoz at the helm, Tabla received numerous accolades including a three-star review from The New York Times. The restaurant also spawned an entirely new category of modern Indian restaurants across the country and internationally. After 12 incredibly rewarding years, Tabla closed its doors in December 2010. Cardoz began his career in his native Bombay, where he attended culinary school and interned in the kitchen of the Taj Mahal Intercontinental Hotel. To further his classic culinary technique, Cardoz moved to Switzerland, and spent his days at the hotel management and culinary school, Les Roches. Cardoz later moved to New York, and worked under Chef Gary Kunz of the venerable Lespinasse. During his seven years at the world-renowned restaurant, he rose from Chef de Partie to Executive Sous Chef. In 2006, Cardoz wrote his first cookbook, One Spice, Two Spice (Clarkson Potter). In 2009, he launched a line of meals for online grocer Fresh Direct. He is also the consulting chef for El Verano Taqueria located at Citi Field, home of the New York Mets. Actively engaged in the community beyond the walls of his restaurants, Cardoz received the "Humanitarian Award of the Year Award" from Share Our Strength in 2007.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

TC News and Information 3.14.11

Wanna eat at Restaurant Wars for Season 9? A table is being auctioned off for the episode, to be filmed "sometime in July or August, 2011," reports Eater. Estimated value: $20K, to benefit the Endometriosis Foundation of America.

Season 2 Finalist Sam Talbot’s new restaurant, Imperial No. 9 at the Mondrian Hotel in NYC has finally opened, and the New York Times offers up a lengthy piece in - of all places - its Fashion and Style section. If you’re looking for info about the food he’s cooking, you won’t find much here. What you will find is an assertion by the NYT’s writer that Sam “is among a new breed of celebrity chefs who have coasted into culinary fame, less by grueling dues-paying, and more on their telegenic brand. The group includes the brothers Bryan and Michael Voltaggio, Ludo Lefebvre, Spike Mendelsohn, Sam Mason, Fabio Viviani and Marcel Vigneron.”

Ouch! Both Michael Voltaggio and Top Chef Masters’ Ludo Lefebvre took issue with inclusion on NYT list, and contacted the LA Times with their own rebuttals.

If you are actually interested in Sam's food, Eater has a round-up of early blogger buzz about No. 9, some of it from fans who find the chef a hunk and are perhaps not too discerning in the food department. On the other hand, there seems to be something about those cauliflower fritters . . .

In other news, Richard Blais does baby food, partnering with organic baby food maker Jack’s Harvest. Their first product offering, featuring cauliflower and quinoa, debuted March 1. (What is it with cauliflower?)

We reported previously that Top Chef Master Rick Bayless has opened a spot in Chicago's O'Hare airport. Now comes news that his fellow Masters contestant, pop-up king Ludo Lefebvre may open a "chicken shack" at LAX.

Starting tomorrow, Season 6’s Preeti Mistry launches a weekday lunch pop-up in San Francisco called Juhu Beach Club featuring Indian street food, according to this item.

Floyd Cardoz of the upcoming Top Chef Masters 3 is slated to helm a new Danny Meyer restaurant in NYC to open near the end of the year, according to NYT and Grub Street.

Finally, although I haven't read anything official about this year's traveling Top Chef road show yet, Season 6's Hector Santiago posted on facebook: "TC 2011 tour starts in ST. Louis , on April 15,c you there Y'all ...their will b quick fire challenges this time aroud , fun fun ;)" Let us know if you hear about the Top Chef Tour coming to your city.