NP: Yes. I waited until about 12:30 am my time, so I could watch it with my staff and a small group of friends at my house.
ATC: If you could go back, is there anything that you would do differently?
NP: No. I am really happy with everything...well, I guess if I could go back, I maybe wouldn't have yelled so much at my dad ;) .... But then again...Our dishes DID end up identical. !
ATC: Tell us about your charity
NP: Seed Savers Exchange.. Genetic diversity in food. It's really important. It's dying at an alarming rate. I really wanted to choose a charity where the mention of it might cause people to think about something they don't spend a lot of time thinking about... or had maybe even never heard of.. People are realizing of course, that tomatoes sometimes taste like tomatoes (and sometimes like cardboard) .. and everyone prefers the former.. Seed Savers is an organization that is working to protect those heritage foods- It's what makes me want to keep cooking- when things taste as amazing as they can.. and that is in the product itself... Not all carrots are created equal. If that dies, so does my love of cooking...and a HUGE part of our cultural heritage.
Chef Naomi Pomeroy had a very successful run on Top Chef Masters this season. After winning several Quickfire and Elimination Challenges, she managed to earn $25,000 for her charity, which is a nice chunk of change. Unfortunately, her success came to an end when her Hawaiian-inspired buffet menu fell short of the critics' expectations.
Chef Pomeroy - you are definitely one to watch in the future, and we're all excited to see what it holds for you and your talent.
This post is only for positive comments about Chef Pomeroy and her dishes. If you have anything negative to say, please do so here
Well played, Chef Pomeroy - you took a simple dish of chicken and made it into something special that was enjoyed by both the happy couple and the critics. And it earned another $10K for your charity, bringing your total thus far to $25K.
They're saying you can make it all the way to the top. Are you going to disappoint your fans, or will you be the next Top Chef Master? We'll find out in a few weeks.
This post is only for positive comments about Chef Pomeroy and her dishes. If you have anything negative to say, please do so here.
Curious about Naomi Pomeroy's celery velouté? Here's the recipe:
Celery Velouté with Salsa Verde & Lemon Oil
INGREDIENTS
1 bunch celery
3 leeks
2 onions
3 cloves garlic
4 tablespoons butter
Water, as needed
Crème fraiche, as needed
Cream, as needed
Salt and pepper to taste
Salsa Verde:
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped mint
1 tablespoon chopped chervil
1 tablespoon chopped chive
Olive oil, to cover
1 shallot, finely minced
Champagne vinegar to cover
Salt, to taste
DIRECTIONS
1. Sweat out leeks, onion and garlic in butter.
2. Add water to cover.
3. Bring to a simmer, add celery and cook until celery is fully soft.
4. Puree in blender, using a bit of water, cream and crème fraiche (adding as much as you like, depending on desired richness and consistency)
5. Salt and pepper to taste
Salsa Verde:
1. Cover all herbs in oil
2. Macerate shallot in champagne vinegar and salt.
3. Add shallot to oil/herb mix at last minute to prevent discoloring
To Plate:
Spoon a dollop of Salsa Verde on top a bowl of Velouté. Drizzle with lemon oil.
Chef Naomi Pomeroy was in a take-charge mood in this week's Elimination Challenge. Some may even say she was a little "bossy." But nobody could accuse her simple celery veloute of being anything other than perfect.
Chef Pomeroy, you are obviously a chef to be reckoned with, and we at All Top Chef cannot wait to see what you do next in this competition.
This post is only for positive comments about Chef Pomeroy and her dishes. If you have anything negative to say, please do so here.
So, what did you think of the new format and team of host and "critics" for Masters 3?
If you're among those wondering "Who the Hell is Curtis Stone?" Eater has a pretty thorough run-down of answers, and WWD has an insightful piece as well (Stone does not seem to be a Housewives fan - lol).
Bravo has blogs up from Ruth Reichl and James Oseland, both of whom vigorously disagree with the diners, who were allowed to select the winning TCM Restaurant Wars team. Bravo also continues its extended Judges' (ahem, not "Critics') Table videos, and in this week's clip, Oseland talks about how "weird" and "space-alien-like" he found poor Hugh Acheson's scallops.
Before you become too attached to Ruth Reichl as a Masters critic, read this TV Guide interview with Magical Elves producer Dan Cutforth. Ruth was not available to film all the episodes (kind of like we were teased that Anthony Bourdain would be on more All-Stars episodes than proved to be the case?). However, Cutforth says Gael Greene will be back for “a few” episodes, Gail Simmons for “a couple,” and Padma Lakshmi for “one.” Sadly, no mention of bringing back Jay Rayner.
Cutforth also talks about the difference between “critics” and “judges” and says: “We were actually really happy with the panel of critics we had assembled, but you always want to keep evolving and keep things moving... That said, we wanted to reflect the new reality of food criticism, which is that food blogs and online criticism are a huge part of the restaurant business now. So critics panel will also include people from sites like Grub Street and RestaurantGirl." Danyelle Freeman of the blog Restaurant Girl was, of course, among the critics for the first TCM3 episode. Grub Street (New York Magazine's food blog) fesses up that its own Alan Sytsma is also a guest judge this season.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal has an interesting piece on Masters contestant Naomi Pomeroy, with more of her back story (plus a recipe for the former Mrs. Hebberoy's Potato and Green Garlic Soup).
Mary Sue Milliken turned down TC Masters repeatedly, accordingly to the Las Vegas Sun.
And here's an interesting interview with Masters contestant Sue Zemanick, of New Orleans' Gautreau, who says she prefers to stay out of the spotlight.
While Top Chef Masters contenders are competing on behalf of charities of their choice, other TC'ers are lending their names to causes as well, including All-Stars Richard Blais, Mike Isabella, Carla Hall, Antonia LoFaso, Jennifer Carroll, Angelo Sosa, Dale Levitski, Jamie Lauren, Dale Talde, Tre Wilcox, Casey Thompson, and Fabio Viviani, who have signed onto the Humane Society of the United States’ Protect Seals boycott of Canadian seafood in an effort to end Canada’s commercial seal slaughter.
Naomi Pomeroy and her sous chef Mika Paredes first welcomed customers to Beast on September 27, 2007. Since then, the restaurant has received features in Gourmet and Elle magazine. Additionally, Bon Appètit named Pomeroy as one of the top 6 of a new generation of female chefs in September 2008 and Food & Wine magazine recognized her as one of the 10 Best New Chefs in America in 2009. Locally, Pomeroy was voted Chef of the Year for 2008 by Portland Monthly. Pomeroy’s restaurant Beast was named Restaurant of the Year by the Oregonian in 2008 and chosen as Best Brunch by the Willamette Weekly. In March of 2010, Pomeroy was selected as a finalist for the prestigious James Beard Awards for Best Chef in the Pacific Northwest. Most recently, Marie Claire named Pomeroy one of the 18 most powerful women in business in October 2010. Born and raised in Corvallis, Oregon, Pomeroy spent her childhood hanging around the stove and in backyard gardens with her and with Grandmother Vivian from New Orleans. Before opening Beast, Pomeroy, and Michael Hebb started up Ripe Catering in 1999 and soon after launched an underground supper club in their northeast Portland bungalow called Family Supper. After a couple years of dodging authorities, using salvaged doors rigged as tabletops and defrosting shrimp in the bathtub, they decided to go legit. In rapid succession they opened the Gotham Coffee Shop, ClarkLewis Restaurant, and the Gotham Tavern. In the summer of 2007, after Gotham Coffee Shop and Tavern closed and ClarkLewis was sold, Pomeroy started to cook small family-style suppers again. The intimacy of these suppers is preserved at Beast, a 24-seat restaurant where people chat freely with each other at communal tables. Beast serves a six-course prix-fixed menu at two seatings 4 nights a week and a four-course brunch on Sundays.
As we reported previously (and othersources have reiterated), this season's "finale" runs four weeks. So don't let the name of tomorrow night's episode, "Last Supper," fool you. The final installment of the finale airs March 30. The All-Stars Reunion airs April 6 in the usual 10:00 p.m. Eastern time-slot, followed by the premiere of Top Chef Masters Season 3 at 11:00. Fan Favorite will be revealed on "Watch What Happens" March 31, according to host Andy Cohen on Sunday night's WWH, which featured Carla Hall. OK, I get it that the reunion show was filmed before Fan Fave voting was completed. But I'm still bummed Bravo chose not to figure out a way to announce Fan Fave winner within the context/time-slot of the reunion show. I'm hoping for a Housewives-free "Watch What Happens" March 31 following the actual All-Stars finale, but who knows.
In case you missed Carla Sunday night on WWH, here's a brief clip via Eater without Housewife interruption.
Meanwhile, this year's Top Chef Tour dates and cities have been announced. Details on these tours have been notoriously sketchy in the past, but I'm hoping they may be getting their act together as they take it on the road this year - especially since the schedule includes two cities in my metropolitan area and rumor has it that Richard Blais may be here . . . If you hear of details in your city, please email us and we'll be happy to share!
On to Monday's announcements about the 2011 James Beard Awards, where Top Chef Season 7 is in the running in the "Television Program, In Studio or Fixed Location" category - hmmm. Making the short list in the Chef and Restaurant section are TC winner Stephanie Izard for her Girl and The Goat as Best New Restaurant, and upcoming Top Chef Masters Season 3 contestant Sue Zemanick for Rising Star Chef of the Year (her third nomination in that category). Naomi Pomeroy, another Top Chef Masters S3 contestant, prepared "Cattail Creek poached lamb pastry with pickled sour cherry and spring herb salsa verde" for the pre-announcement James Beard event in Portland, OR, according to this.
If you haven't read this juicy interview with Tom Collichio from AV Club, check it out now. It includes some hints about the reunion.
Dale Levitski launched what some have called a "no-kids" brunch at his Chicago restaurant, Sprout, last weekend. (He says he just doesn't offer a kids menu.) Chicago Time-Out's coverage here, and Huffington post has more - including photos - here. Lingonberry French Toast or Foie Gras Deviled Eggs, anyone?
For news about Kevin Gillespie's long-anticipated new bbq restaurant, click here.
For video of the interior of Sam Talbot's long-delayed restaurant, Imperial No. 9 at the Mondrian Hotel in NYC, and a recipe demo from Feast, click here.
And for info about The Voltaggio Brothers Cookbook scheduled for release October 25, click here.
