TC News & Information 5.2.2010

The Huffington Post has a chat with Top Chef Masters competitor Jody Adams.

Eater has a recap of last week's LA Times Festival of Books which featured Top Chef alums Stefan Richter, CJ Jacobsen, Antonio Lofaso, Betty Fraser, and Dave Martin, as well as Top Chef Masters two-time competitor Mark Peel.

Project Foodie has a short interview with TCM's Wylie Dufresne.

Speaking of Wylie Dufresne, his restaurant wd-50 was named one of the 50 Best Restaurants in the World by S. Pellegrino. Congratulations, Chef Dufresne! Read the full list here.

Congratulations go to Bryan Voltaggio as well, for winning the 2010 Chef of the Year Award from the Restaurant Association of Maryland. Next up - a James Beard award?

Exit Interviews - TCM 2 Episode 3

James Beard Semi-Finalists Named

There are some familiar names among the James Beard semi-finalists this year. There were twenty names in each category - the pack will be thinned down yet again and finalists will be announced March 22 in New Orleans.

OUTSTANDING CHEF
Tom Colicchio, Craft, NYC (Host, Top Chef)
Mark Peel, Campanile, Los Angeles (Top Chef Masters 1 & 2)
Jerry Traunfeld, Poppy, Seattle (Top Chef Masters 2)

RISING STAR CHEF OF THE YEAR
Kevin Gillespie, Woodfire Grill, Atlanta (Finalist, Top Chef 6)

BEST CHEF: MID-ATLANTIC
Bryan Voltaggio, Volt, Frederick, MD (Finalist, Top Chef 6)

BEST CHEF: NEW YORK CITY
Wylie Dufresne, WD-50 (Top Chef Masters 1 & 2)
Jonathan Waxman, Barbuto (Top Chef Masters 1 & 2)

BEST CHEF: PACIFIC
Michael Cimarusti, Providence, Los Angeles (Top Chef Masters 1)

TC News & Information

Isn't this cute?

Top Chef can't be this much of a time suck, can it?

TC5 champ Hosea Rosenberg will be appearing at the Telluride Festival of the Arts on Saturday, August 15th. His 3pm presentation is titled "Colorado Peach Sensations."

Bio - Mark Peel

In college, Mark landed a job peeling vegetables for Wolfgang Puck at Ma Maison. He eventually worked his way up to poissonier before moving to France for stints at La Tour d’Argent and Le Moulin de Mougins. In 1979, he returned to Los Angeles and began working at Michael’s Restaurant. From there he moved north to Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse and, finally, back to Los Angeles to open the original Spago as Wolfgang Puck’s chef de cuisine. In 1989, he opened both La Brea Bakery and Campanile with business partners Nancy Silverton and Manfred Krankl. He has co-authored several books, including Mark Peel & Nancy Silverton At Home: Two Chefs Cook for Family and Friends and The Food of Campanile, both with former wife and ex-partner Nancy Silverton. New Family Classic Dinners, his new cookbook, is due to be released October 2009. His newest project, Glass and Mirrors, a classic bar and restaurant featuring hand-crafted cocktails, is due to open in Hollywood in late 2009. Mark has five children and is married to television host and comedienne Daphne Brogdon.