Top Chefs Cook for Sandy Relief

If you happen to be in NY tonight, you can help Top Chefs Angelo Sosa, Jennifer Carroll, Dale Talde, and Kevin Sbraga to raise money for Hurricane Sandy relief.

They will be serving a four-course tasting menu at Angelo's restaurant, Anejo. For $100, you get these four courses and a cocktail:

First Course By Angelo: Baby Carrots With Spiced White Chocolate and Mole
Second Course By Jen: Ora King Salmon With Potatoes, Kabocha Squash and Warm Squid Ink Vinaigrette
Third Course By Kevin: Crispy Chicken Thigh With Brussel Sprouts, Polenta
Fourth Course By Dale: Chocolate Pudding With Pomelo and Hazelnuts

All proceeds go to the American Red Cross. For more information, visit the Anejo site.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Life After Top Chef Episode 3 Previews

Posted on AllTopChef.com

TC News & Information 7.10.2012

Changes are afoot in Top Chef-land....

First, the Chicago Tribune is reporting that everyone's favorite Top Chef Texas competitor, Beverly Kim, is leaving Aria and headed to Bonsoiree...

...and then there's speculation that season 6's Jennifer Carroll is looking to open her restaurant, Concrete Blonde, in New York, rather than Philly.

Richard Blais, still pretty firmly entrenched in Atlanta, competed against Hector Santiago recently on the Top Chef Tour. Blogger the Arriviste has written a fun post on the event.

And congratulations to Mike Isabella, who was recently named Chef of the Year by DC Magazine!

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Chef Jen Carroll Featured in New Bravo Show

Photo: Alejandro A. Alvarez

Bravo cameras have been following Chef Jen for a possible new Bravo show, "Life After Top Chef."

Click here for more information.
Posted on AllTopChef.com

TC News and Information 4.4.11

In case you're not sated with interviews from the final two after last week's show, here are interviews with Richard Blais from the Chicago Tribune, TV Guide, and Slashfood. And don't miss Eli Kirshtein's Bravo blog, which reveals a little more about the personal side of Blais, his mentor and hero.

Mike Isabella talks to Grub Street and the Chicago Tribune.

For a couple of different perspectives, here's an interesting blog about teachable moments from the finale. And here's a thought-provoking piece from the Village Voice about why more women don't win Top Chef, with comments from several of the female chefs from the All-Stars season (thanks to reader Jennifer for mentioning it in the comments!).

Speaking of girl power, NYC pop-up-of-sorts, What Happens When, is launching a Monday night series featuring "female chefs, female pastry chefs, and female sommeliers." Check out the line-up, which includes Season 1's Lee Anne Wong, All-Stars Jennifer Carroll and Carla Hall, and Season 5's Leah Cohen.

You can find more about Fan Favorite Carla Hall's petite cookies here.

And as a new winner is crowned, Season 5 winner Hosea Rosenberg is shutting down his Boulder food truck business, while Season 4 winner Stephanie Izard continues to pursue Olympic dreams and the prospect of being a James Beard Award winner for her Chicago restaurant, Girl and the Goat.


Posted on AllTopChef.com

TC News and Information 1.28.11 - Vacation Edition

Top Chef All-Stars took a holiday this week (sigh). So how about catching up on the recent getaways of some of our TC faves?

Auf'd All-Star Jennifer Carroll traveled to the Caribbean with her boss, Bravo vlogger and frequent TC guest judge Eric Ripert, for the third annual Picnic in the Caymans, based at the Ritz-Carlton hotel, which houses his restaurant, Blue. Ripert's buddy, Tony Bourdain, who sometimes judges All-Stars (glad he'll be back next week), also made an appearance, as did TC Masters contestant and All-Stars dim sum judge Susur Lee. Bourdain claims Tom spends more time in hair and make-up than Padma. What do you think? More about the Cayman event here.

TC Masters contestant Jonathan Waxman headed to Hawaii for the James Beard Celebrity Chef Tour. Cooking with Iron Chef Michael Symon, you can bet pork was involved - in fact, a "reserve" pig. Waxman and Symon also spent some time answering questions from culinary students. Here's video of the $250 per person dinner Waxman and Symon whipped up on the Big Island.

In a chillier but nonetheless prestigious setting, Season 6 winner Michael Voltaggio and Season 3 contestant Brian Malarkey cooked at Chef Dance, er, Sundance. From Utah, MVolt also shared his thoughts about whether Marcel is really an a**h*le or just plays one on TV.

Season 4 winner Stephanie Izard appears this weekend at Bon Appetit's Master Chef Classic in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Her "Snowshoe Excursion and Luncheon" is sold out. She'll also be up against Jose Garces and Joey Campanaro in the food festival's "Master Chef Challenge," where the competitors will be given 20 minutes to create a dish from a surprise ingredient.

If you're not lucky enough to be in one of those exotic locales but find yourself traveling through Chicago, Top Chef Masters winner Rick Bayless has a new outpost in O'Hare's Terminal 1, with another on the way for Terminal 3.

Stay warm, all. And Minx, good luck digging out the Ion.

eggy

TC News and Information 12.14.10 - Insiders' and Spin Edition

The All-Stars Episode 2 elimination was a stunner, wasn’t it? Not only because Jen Carroll was someone a lot of us expected to last further into the All-Stars season, but especially because of the way she went out. I'll get to some thoughts and links about that in a minute. Meanwhile, check out these items for more about that night at the museum from the contestants who were actually there.

Casey Thompson talks about cleaning up after the kids, and says most of the cast had figured out in advance that they would spending the night there (although 75% had no clue who Joe Jonas was) on her blog here.

In this video, Tiffani Faison talks about their teeny-tiny cots and the kids' reactions to Spike's midnight snack, saying she thinks judges table could have gone any number of different ways.

In this audio clip from WGN radio, you can hear Fabio describe in his own inimitable way how foreign this challenge was for him, why he decided to wander around the museum in lieu of sleeping, and how much better Tiff F's Quickfire dish was than Spike's. Fabio also hints that Episode 3 is "very memorable." (Can we take three in a row?)

And in case you're interested in what Episode 2's guest judge Joe Jonas thought of the experience, you can find that via Bravo here.

So . . . I admit to smiling whenever a “serious” news organization features Top Chef, and I read this “morning-after” item from NPR with interest. While I think NPR may prematurely have gotten it wrong in its specific comparison between Jennifer Carroll and Tiffani Faison as to how these two are presenting themselves this time around (other All-Stars who've gotten less face time this season are also mentioned), the piece addresses an interesting point. Some cheftestants seem to be making a concerted effort to soften their edges, while others, notsomuch. Oh, yeah, there’s also that “editing thing,” so a large degree of how we perceive the competitors is shaped by what the Magical Elves choose to air vs. leave on the cutting room floor (where Jen might well have preferred to leave her expletive-filled comments once she’d been booted).

The contestants have no control over how they’re edited for the Bravo episodes. But they do have a choice as to how they present themselves in their post-elimination interviews. Elia Aboumrad might have garnered some sympathy for being the first All-Star cut – until she gave explosive interviews afterward. Jennifer Carroll, in contrast, was shown to blow up on camera, but then gave a lot of interviews two days after the episode aired where she came across in a kindler, gentler, funnier light (you can find some here, here, and here, in addition to our own interview with Jen here). In the judges’ blogs and “extended judging” video on Bravo, there also seems to be a concerted effort on Bravo’s part to dissuade viewers from thinking Jen’s ouster had anything to do with her talking back to judges rather than her dish simply being the least successful on “any given Sunday night at the museum.” Read and decide for yourself.

How are some other All-Stars controlling their own spin and capitalizing on their "second-time-around" exposure?

Tre Wilcox continues his Wednesday night viewing parties at Loft 610, inviting All-Stars friends to cook. Tre did the premiere party, Tiffany Derry sold out the one last week (at $100/person), and Casey Thompson is up at bat this Wednesday.

And Carla Hall is doing a live chat Wednesday night 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. PST / 8:00 p.m.to 9:00 p.m. EST on the Tom’s of Maine Facebook page -www.facebook.com/TomsofMaine – via the Live Chat tab, where she says she'll be talking about cooking with seasonal ingredients and holiday entertaining.

All Top Chef Interview with Jennifer Carroll

Top Chef All Star contestant, Jen Carroll talks about her experience on the Bravo show.

Click here for the podcast.

Thanks Chef Jen!

ATC Love to Jennifer Carroll

Chef Jen, you were another person we were so glad to see return for a second chance at the title of Top Chef, and sorry that you had to leave so soon. It was clear that this new competition meant a great deal to you, and you wanted to stick around to prove to the judges that your first elimination was a mistake.



Unfortunately, Jamie's injury forced you to complete a team dish on your own, which is never a good place to be. At the very least, you were able to stay true to what you wanted the dish to be, regardless of what the judges thought. We are certain you have moved on from this experience and will continue your already successful career.

This post is only for postitive comments about Jennifer Carroll. If you have anything negative to say about her or her competition, please do so here.

TC News and Information 12.1.10

Woo-hoo - tonight's the night! And there's a media feeding-frenzy goin' on.

Here's what TV Guide gleaned from head judge Tom Collichio about the All-Stars season (I'd love to know Tom's 1-year-old son's reaction to being on set - and I'd really love to know which contestant(s) were among the 5% of the previous competitors the producers didn't manage to snag for their dream team All-Stars roster).

Click here for an interesting assessment of "All-Star Alignment" and a star chart I'm not sure I completely understand or agree with.

And here's a fun trip down memory lane.

Richard Blais offers his own assessment of some of his All-Star competitors in this interview.

Jamie Lauren reveals that she had no idea who she'd be competing against in the All-Star season until she met them all back in NYC.

Dale Levitski talks about this season's judging and why he hears TC theme music wherever he goes in this great piece from the Chicago Tribune. He also says he felt "stood up at the prom" by Michelin and has some interesting things to say about how he'd restructure the finale challenges in this Q&A with Metromix.

Dale L. encourages fans to come out for an All-Stars viewing party tomorrow at Small Bar, next to his Chicago restaurant, Sprout. No doubt there will be plenty more viewing parties from other cheftestants as well. Here are some that have hit our radar.

You can crack a Bud Light Lime and sample "globally inspired snacks" at Tiffani Faison's Boston restaurant, Rocca. Tre Wilcox is having a viewing party at The Loft 610 in Plano, TX. And Fabio Viviani says on facebook, in his own inimitable way, "Tomorrow night Premiere TOP CHEF All Star !! 7pm Cafe Firenze & 9pm Osteria Firenze ill be in both place !! See you there !!" Casey Thompson's Dallas restaurant, Brownstone, will offer complimentary bites, happy hour drink specials and half-priced bottles of wine throughout the season according to this.

Updates on Jennifer Carroll's premiere viewing party at 10 Arts in DC, which we reported about previously: Details of Jen's tasting menu here. According to this, an a la carte menu will also be offered, and Eric Ripert, frequent TC guest judge and Jen's mentor will be on hand to meet, greet, and sign books.

Photo courtesy of Max Jacobson, Unicaworld.com

If you, like me, don't live in a city graced with the presence of a Top Cheftestant (yet), you can check out the food and festivities presented by a number of former TC competitors at the Food and Wine All-Star Weekend held earlier in November in Las Vegas, thanks to this report from Unicaworld. And for a truly charming take on what it's like to put together such an event, check out this post from culinary student Athena Thickstun who worked behind the scenes.

Photo courtesy of Athena Thickstun, http://athenathickstun.blogspot.com/

Not sated yet? Click here for a full transcript of that media conference call with Tom Collichio and Anthony Bourdain that our own Minx reported on earlier.

Or live chat with TC judge Gail Simmons tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. EST according to these directions:

WHEN: Thursday, December 2nd at 1:00pm EST
WHERE: Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry’s USTREAM channel
HOW:
1. RSVP by replying to this invitation
2. Sign up for a USTREAM account – it’s easy and free!
3. Logon to ask Gail your questions… Or submit your questions ahead of time on the Puff Pastry web site or Tweet to @PepperidgeFarm using “#AskGail”

Happy premiere viewing, all!
eggy

Meet the All Stars - Jennifer Carroll

Although she had some high highs and low lows, Jennifer's skills brought her all the way to the Napa finale competing against Kevin Gillespie and the Voltaggio brothers. Unfortunately, Michael Voltaggio took home the title.

Wooed by restaurant work and cooking from an early age, Jennifer went to culinary school and quickly became Sous Chef at both Julia and Café Kati in San Francisco. She returned to her native Philadelphia working at several restaurants and went on to become Sous Chef at Eric Ripert’s prestigious Le Bernardin in Manhattan. Personally selected by Ripert to lead 10 Arts Bistro & Lounge, located in The Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia, Jennifer is currently Chef de Cuisine at the award-winning restaurant and contributes her culinary talents to numerous charitable causes. Her favorite thing to make is a really good sandwich, especially late at night after work. And she is sure to keep fine sea salt, espellate, citron vinegar, high fat unsalted butter, and sitia extra virgin olive oil in her kitchen.

TC News and Information 11.15.10

In case you can't get enough of Richard Blais when he returns to Top Chef All-Stars, starting December 17 he will also have a new show on the Science Channel, Blaisin Out, in which he uses "ultra-modern tools and techniques to deconstruct and then re-engineer new-and-improved versions of America's most popular meals using technology and science."

Speaking of All-Stars, it's not too early to book a reservation at Jennifer Carroll's restaurant, 10 Arts, for the All-Stars premiere viewing party. She'll be serving a special tasting menu of her favorite winning dishes from her original season, the 6th. Hope she's saving her favorite dishes from her upcoming turn on the All-Star season for future viewing parties.

If you're looking for an update on returning Dale Levitski, with a soupcon of inside scoop on the All-Stars, you won't want to miss this great new interview. I'm a little disappointed to read that Anthony Bourdain, who was supposed to be a regular judge for the All-Stars, alternating with Gail Simmons, judged only twice . . . unless that means Dale L. only lasted through two of the episodes judged by Bourdain (in which case, I'm also a little disappointed).

A whole bunch of TC contestants will be appearing at the Seventh Annual San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival, which runs November 17-21. Season 6's Eli Kirshtein and Season 7's Andrea Curto-Randazzo join returning All-Star Brian Malarkey on Friday night, while Season 7's Kenny Gilbert helps with the menu for Sunday’s Celebrity Chef Luncheon & Live Auction. More info here and here.

We know TC head judge Tom Colicchio likes his guitars, but this is interesting. On November 23 at NYC's Del Posto, he and a number of other music-lovin' chefs will participate in a "Music and Culinary Summit," for which the chefs will pair each course not only with wine but also with music. Eater.com calls it "the Traveling Wilburys of the kitchen" and you can find more info here.

In other musical news, Top Chef Masters contestant Tim Love bested Mario Batali and Guy Fieri in the recent Asphalt Chef Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway that raised more than $85,000 for charity. And if that wasn't enough, the cheftestants hopped up on stage to sing "Hot Blooded" with Foreigner singer Kelly Hansen, Love's sous chef, afterward. You can find video here.

Speaking of smackdowns, and charity events, returning All-Star Spike Mendolsohn made it to the top 2 but then lost out with his Thai-inspired beet salad at the recent Capitol Food Fight, which raised $500K for D.C.'s Central Kitchen. The event was hosted and judged by Tom Colicchio, Anthony Bourdain, Eric Ripert and Jose Andres. For more on the banter and ingredients, as well as photos, click here and here. You can also see video of the surprise cook-off where Tom Colicchio and Jose Andres took on Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert - and which team won by audience applause - here.

TC News and Information 10.26.10

We're sorry to hear those rumors of Season 3 winner Hung Huynh's "culinary overlordship" were premature.

Meanwhile, Season 4 finalist and returning All-Star Richard Blais has apparently leaked his own rumors that his next restaurant will be in the Virginia Highlands area of Atlanta and move on to a new concept other beyond boutique burgers. But you can catch a blogger's eye view of his newest Flip burger joint, which opened last week, here.

TC judge Tom Colicchio is also saying he won't open any more Crafts, in a "branding = good, chain = not so much" strategy.

While Season 7 winner Kevin Sbraga hasn't yet released specifics about the restaurant he plans to open with all that TC cash (ya know, like name, location, or date), he is doing a preview dinner of its menu December 9, according to this item.

Season 1 finalist and returning All-Star Tiffani Faison got a little love recently from the Boston Globe, which said: "It's time we stop calling her 'Tiffani from Top Chef' . . . she deserves simply to be known as the killer chef she is." For more, click here scroll down to the item on her restaurant, Rocco.

Another returning All-Star, Season 6's Jennifer Carroll, has persuaded mentor Eric Ripert to let her make some changes to the menu at 10 Arts, including branching out from seafood and focusing on more seasonal and locally sourced dishes.

Season 6 finalist Bryan Voltaggio talks about turning down All-Stars, and being mistaken for his brother, in this extended interview.

Season 2 finalist and returning All-Star Marcel Vigneron promoted his new SyFy show, Marcel's Quantum Kitchen, at a recent press gig, making a Harry Potter-inspired "butterbeer" with the use of spherification-ized cream soda. You can read a report and catch a couple videos of his demos here.

And Season 3's Brian Malarkey, who as far as we know was not given the opportunity to turn down All-Stars, has his own new show, Kick Off Cook Off, on TLC. Click here for a piece in which he describes himself as the "poor man's Tom Colicchio," plus video snippet.

TC News and Information 10.18.10

Guest judge for this Wednesday's episode of Just Desserts will be Michael Laiskonis, Executive Pastry Chef of Eric Ripert's Le Bernadin. Read his recap of last week's episode here and more of his thoughts on the show here.

Here's a peak at what Ripert recently cooked up at 10 Arts with his protege, Season 6 finalist and returning All-Star Jennifer Carroll, including suckling pig!


Jennifer Carroll is among the TC contestants who will appear at the Food & Wine All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas Nov. 5-7, hosted by Gail Simmons. Also scheduled are Fabio Viviani, Carla Hall, and Hosea Rosenberg, according to this item.

Michael Voltaggio, Fabio Viviani, and Season 6's Ron Duprat will appear at the Philadelphia Food & Wine Festival Oct. 29-31.

At a recent appearance in Wisconsin, Season 6 Finalist Bryan Voltaggio revealed that he was offered the chance to appear on the upcoming Season 8 All-Star season, but declined, according to this interview.

Season 7 winner Kevin Sbraga recently talked to NPR.

And according to this item, Season 7 finalist and returning All-Star Angelo Sosa's restaurant, Xie Xie, has closed.

TC News & Information 9.10.10

Joel Keller of TV Squad thinks Eric Ripert isn't such a great judge. (I'm inclined to agree - he's a bit of a complainer.)

Win a cooking class with Bryan Voltaggio by supporting Frederick Maryland’s Premier Food and Wine Charity Gala, An Evening on the Riviera. All proceeds from the raffle go to support the charities benefiting from the event, which this year are The Boys and Girls Club of Frederick County and the Women’s Giving Circle. Purchase your tickets here.

Season 7's Jennifer Carroll is the latest chef rumored to be taking part in the Top Chef All-Stars season. Also rumored is that the show will start around Thanksgiving, after Top Chef Just Desserts comes to an end. And if you don't want spoilers about the end of this season of Top Chef, then by all means DO NOT READ THIS POST at Eater.com.

Top Chef Foodie Experience - Wine Dinner at Jennifer Carroll's 10 Arts

When my friend The Scarlett, from Blogging Project Runway, invited me to attend the Torbreck Wine Dinner at 10 Arts by Eric Ripert, I jumped at the chance. For one thing, I hadn't seen Scar in about a year, and for another, Jennifer Carroll from Top Chef Las Vegas is still the restaurant's chef de cuisine. After watching her nearly win the competition, of course I was curious to taste her culinary wares.

Our first course, served with a Torbreck (Australia) semillion:  apricot honey jus, spheres of pineapple caviar, micro cilantro, and thin slices of jalapeno.

For our second course we were served Chatham cod with carrot, maiitake mushrooms, smoked steelhead caviar, and a black peppercorn bourbon sauce.

The third course was foie gras in a little pool of dashi, with some fennel and wine-soaked dried cherries.

The final savory course was a pork belly ravioli with scallion, morels, and a fragrant wine emulsion.

Finally, we had a dessert called passion fruit "parfait"  with white chocolate, caramelized pistachios, and white chocolate orange sorbet.

But wait, there's more - we were also served a plate of tiny mignardises including a puffy bit of pastry, a tiny brownie, and a square of gelée that may have been fig. Ok, now we're done.

I was very happy to have had the chance to finally experience Chef Carroll's culinary expertise, and it was very interesting to see her thought processes as far as pairing food to wine (and not vice versa). Personally, I think it would be a challenge, but I'm not a huge wine person.

For a more critical look at the meal, check out my post at MinxEats.com.

TC News & Information 6.2.10

Top Chef 6's Jennifer Carroll is Chef Chair of the 2010 Taste of the Nation Philadelphia. Catch the details here.

The SignOnSanDiego Newsletter has a feature on season 3 cheftestant Brian Malarkey.

Season 5's Carla Hall is preparing for summer. Here's the transcript from her appearance on NPR's Tell Me More.

Vote for Top Chef Masters 2 finalist Jody Adams (or your favorite chef) in the Mezzetta Celebrity Chef Sandwich Charity Challenge. Sandwiches and recipes can be found here.

TC News & Information 3.31.2010

Philadelphia's Vetri Foundation is having another Great Chefs Event to support Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research. Appearing will be Top Chef's own Tom Colicchio and season 6 finalist Jennifer Carroll, along with Top Chef Masters season 1 competitors John Besh, Lachlan Mackinnon Patterson, Michael Schlow, and Jonathan Waxman. Click here for more information.

Win private cooking lessons with Bryan Voltaggio for you and 11 of your friends by bidding on them at the 12th Annual Cactoctin Affair, April 9th.

Chef Bryan participated in a special luncheon at DC's Eastern Market to celebrate National Peanut Month. Read about it here at Serious Eats; see a pic of Bryan and his helpers here.

Padma Lakshmi unveiled her newest jewelry collection at Bergdorf Goodman last week.

Top Chef at the Upfronts

Bravo's 2010 Upfronts were held last week and several cheftestants came out to play.

Among them, Hung Huynh, Jennifer Carroll, Eli Kirshtein, Casey Thompson, and Richard Blais.

And Michael Voltaggio, looking like he has a cold. Which may be why he's not in the photo with the rest of the gang.

TC News & Information 2.17.2010

Jennifer Carroll will be the honorary chair of this year's Share Our Strength Taste of the Nation culinary fund-raiser at Philadelphia's Loews Hotel on June 21.

Advance admission is $85 and it's $95 at the door -- or $40 more for a VIP admission that gets you an extra hour of feeding time. Tickets can be purchased here.

Access Atlanta spoke to Kevin Gillespie on life after Top Chef.

Not new news, but Eater LA reports that Stefan Richter has taken on a second LA-area restaurant. And Tom Colicchio has transformed his Manhattan outpost of Craft Steak into Colicchio and Sons.