TC News & Information 2.3.2010

Stephanie Izard will be appearing at Taste Washington, March 27-28. For more information, click here.

The National Aquarium in Baltimore is hosting a third series of sustainable seafood dining featuring three Top Cheftestants. Jesse Sandlin kicks off the series on 3/23, followed by Bryan Voltggio on 5/18, and Jill Snyder on 6/22. More information can be found here.

More speculation as to who will be competing on the upcoming Top Chef Masters can be found here. But didn't Jonathan Waxman participate last time?

Scuttlebutt is that Padma's babydaddy is venture capitalist Adam Dell...who got only 6% of your votes.

A Top Chef Thanksgiving: Recipe du Jour

Top Chef Season 6 cheftestant Jesse Sandlin's Sweet Potato Soup with Ginger, Brown Sugar, and Cayenne Pepper (appetizer)


INGREDIENTS
5 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 quart heavy cream
1 quart water
Dash of ground cayenne
Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine all ingredients in a stock pot and cook until potatoes are tender.

2. Transfer contents to blender and liquefy until soup consistency.

3. Strain through chinois and adjust seasoning.

To Serve:

1. Pour soup into a bowl.

© 2009 JESSE SANDLIN

TC News & Information 9.23.09

Jesse Sandlin dishes to the Baltimore Sun on Top Chef.

Leah Cohen left Centro Vinoteca to travel, and now Hosea Rosenberg has announced a 5-month sabbatical from Jax Fish House. Coincidence? They'll never tell! Starting October 1st, check out Hosea's new site whereishosea.com to find out what he'll be up to over the next several months.(source)

Top Chef Masters finalist Anita Lo takes the confusion out of fusion cuisine here.

Toby Young reports on his experience at the Emmy Awards for Gawker. "For the third year running, Top Chef was beaten by The Amazing Race. A clip was shown in which a deaf contestant told the host that being in The Amazing Race meant the world to him because it proved that deaf people could achieve their dreams, too. This proved to be such an emotional moment that both the deaf man and the host broke down in tears. Cue rapturous applause in the Emmy auditorium. In the bar afterwards, I told Tom that if we wanted to stand a chance next year we'd have to get some contestants with disabilities.

'That's why we hired you Toby,' he said."

Interview with Jesse Sandlin

Baltimore's Chef Jesse Sandlin got eliminated for serving the wrong single bite in the mini Battle of the Amuses last week. All Top Chef asked her a few questions about her experience on the show and here's what she had to say.

ATC: Did you think it was unfair that your elimination came down to an amuse-bouche, a single bite?

JS: yes. i could have gone home for anything else and been okay with it, but not for this...and i don't think that i'm so upset or angry that it was based on an amuse bouche, i'm angry that robin did not make an amuse bouche, a SINGLE BITE, and i was sent home instead of her....

ATC: It was tough watching you end up in the bottom every week, although by all accounts, your restaurant is fabulous. Do you think the pressures of cooking on the show were different from the pressures of cooking in a restaurant, and is that what threw you off your game?

JS: absolutely, it is a completely different thing from everyday life in general...the seclusion from your friends, not being able to break your headspace in any way, because there is no outlet...i just got on this mental downward spiral and i couldn't get out of it...i feel like if i could have done another week or even a couple of days, i would have done a lot better.

ATC: Overall, what did you learn from your experience on the show?

JS: i learned alot about myself, as a person, more than i did anything about being a chef.

ATC: What was your favorite part of the experience? Your least favorite part?

JS: my favorite part was getting to meet everyone and make some really great friends. my least favorite part were the interviews.

ATC: What was your favorite challenge? Your least favorite?

JS: my favorite challenge was the very first one, the vice. and my least favorite was the escargot challenge...daniel boulud made me so nervous that i couldn't even think of anything to say, and i was shaking so badly...

ATC: What did you think of the other cheftestants? Who was your best friend on the show?

JS: i thought everyone was great, we all got along really well, and everyone was so incredibly talented. jen z. was my best friend, probably followed by hector

ATC: What would you have done with the prize money had you won the title of Top Chef?

JS: i would have paid off my debt!! and then i would have put the rest of the money into the restaurant- just a quick face lift, and maybe a new ice cream maker!

Thanks, Chef Sandlin! We wish you much success in the future. And a new ice cream maker. :)

TC News & Information 9.14.09

Here's an interview with TC 5's Leah Cohen, "one of the most popular Top Chef contestants ever." :::raises eyebrow:::

For you C.J. Jacobsen fans: here are a couple of photos of him doing a cooking demo at the farmer's market in Tacoma, WA.

Here are excerpts from the day-after conference call with this week's eliminees Hector Santiago and Jesse Sandlin.

Check out this week's Creative Loafing Top Chef podcast here.

TC4's Ryan Scott did a cooking demo for...a beauty school. Details here.

Finally, Las Vegas Weekly lays odds for episode five here.

Exit Interviews - Jesse Sandlin and Hector Santiago

TC News & Information

Capital Spice has an interview with Baltimore Chef Jesse Sandlin...

...and the Baltimore Sun has an article on one of their three local hopefuls.

Stefan Richter shares the most important qualities needed to win Top Chef.

Sign On San Diego spoke with TC5 cheftestant Rich Sweeney about Top Chef.

Eat All About It has an interview with Ashley Merriman and Robin Leventhal.

The season has just begun and already Amuse-Biatch is in rare form!

Here's an interview with Top Chef Masters winner Rick Bayless.

And finally...Daily Loafing's TCM podcast is here.

TC News & Information

Here's an article from the Las Vegas Sun about Marcel Vigneron.

Top Chef Masters competitor Roy Yamaguchi will be in Baltimore to judge a culinary cookoff. More details here.

MinxEats has an interview with Top Chef Las Vegas cheftestant Jesse Sandlin. Click here to read.

Here's Creative Loafing's TCM podcast o' the week.

Anita Lo explains what happened in her last episode of Top Chef Masters.

Rick Bayless has been keeping a Top Chef Masters blog! Read his thoughts here.

Eater compares the three Top Chef hostesses here. And check out this pic of Kelly Choi and chef Gavin Kaysen of Cafe Boulud (from the Feedbag)

Top Chef 6 Bio - Jesse Sandlin

AGE: 30
HOMETOWN: Baltimore, Md.
PROFESSION: Executive Chef, Abacrombie Fine Foods
CULINARY EDUCATION: Self-Taught
FAVORITE SIMPLE SUMMER RECIPE: Julienned Summer Squash Tossed with Lemon, Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes, Basil, Salt, Cracked Black Pepper, and a Little Bit of Butter

A Baltimore native, Jesse has spent 14 years working in professional kitchens from Maryland to Australia. She initially developed her passion for food while working for Paragary’s Restaurant Group in California under chefs Andrew Tescher and Kurt Spataro. Since her return to Baltimore, Jesse has been an integral leader in several top kitchens in the city. Her unique cuisine highlights local and seasonal ingredients while bringing an innovative twist to European flavors and techniques. Bacon, butter, duck fat, cumin and trash bags are the five items she keeps on hand at all times.