Congrats to Kevin Gillespie, and Mark Your Top Chef 2012 Calendars!

Photo by Fredrik Brauer in Forbes

Season 4 Finalist and Fan Favorite Kevin Gillespie made Forbes Magazine’s 30 Under 30 List for food and wine. Click here for a video interview where he shares his reaction to the honor. If that wasn’t sweet enough, Kevin will also be cooking on a “Wine, Dine, and Jazz” cruise in French Polynesia in September.

Top Chef Texas contestant Chris Crary cooks a game dinner this Thursday at Whist in Santa Monica, featuring such dishes as Roasted Rabbit with Carrot Panna Cotta, Venison Neck with Coffee and Huckleberry Mustard, and Antelope Osso Buco. Check out the whole menu here. Chris will also be appearing with Sara Moulton at the 2012 Food + Wine Festival in Palm Desert March 23-35.

Another TC Texas contender, Sarah Greuneberg, faces off against her boss and mentor, Tony Mantuano, in a "quickfire" challenge/tasting on January 21 at Spiaggia in Chicago. And here's a nice interview with Tony from AV Club, where he reveals more about how both of them decided to go on Top Chef.

Got a Top Chef news tip for us? Email us at alltopchef@gmail.com.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Top Chef Judge Tom Colicchio Jumps Ship, Talks Family, and Contributes to Alex’s Lemonade Stand

Calm down.Tom isn’t leaving Top Chef anytime soon, as far as we know. But this report says he has changed talent management agencies “hoping to build an empire along the lines of Rachel [sic] Ray’s” (and there is hidden access to Tom's Century City restaurant). Hmmm.

Meanwhile, TC Masters’ Jonathan Waxman hosted a recent NYC fundraiser for Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a charity dedicated to fighting childhood cancer, which brought out a slew of folks who’ve appeared on Top Chef, including Colicchio, Marcus Samuelsson, Susan Feniger, Tim Love, and Tony Mantuano, and other chefly luminaries. Check out this great video for more about why chefs don’t say no to Waxman.

In conjunction with the Alex’s Lemonade Stand event, the frequently stern TC judge opens up about Colicchio family life and his three sons in this interview.

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All Top Chef Interview with Tony Mantuano

Master Chef Tony Mantuano talks about his experience on the show.

Click here for the podcast.

Thanks Chef Tony!

ATC Love to Chef Tony Mantuano

Chef Mantuano got cut this week because his tailgate pizza didn't make the grade with the judges. Although it was a great idea - grilled pizza! yum!- and Chef Mantuano was happy with it, certain judges thought the crust didn't work. Seems a paltry quibble, as I'm sure it was many times better than any commercial pizza crust out there, but that's the way it goes.

Chef Tony, we were happy to see you in the Championship Round and wished you could have stuck around longer. We wish you continued success at Spiaggia and your other restaurant ventures. Say hi to the President for us.

This post is only for positive comments about Chef Mantuano's work. If you have anything negative to say about him or any of his competition, please do so here.

Video du Jour - Ravioletto with Tony Mantuano

How to Make Ravioletto With Chef Tony Mantuano @ Spiaggia on Howcast

Congratulations Chefs Feniger and Mantuano!

Congrats to Chef Susan Feniger and Tony Mantuano for winning the first two slots in the Top Chef Masters finale! You worked surprisingly well as a team (as if two consummate professionals working well together should surprise anyone) and your spicy pepper shrimp and pasta with truffles were well-received by both the judges and the couples.

Wouldn't you love to see these two compete every week? I know I would!

This post is for positive comments only. If you have anything negative to say about Chefs Feniger or Mantuano, or any of their competitors, please do so here.

Video du Jour - Kitchen Tour with Tony Mantuano

Top Chef Masters 2 - Meet Tony Mantuano

Regarded internationally as an influential culinary force, Chef Tony Mantuano is the chef/partner at Spiaggia, the only four-star Italian restaurant in Chicago. Awarded the 2005 James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Midwest, Mantuano worked in several Michelin-starred restaurants in Italy before opening Spiaggia in 1984 to critical acclaim, and has since gone on to win The Chicago Tribune’s highest culinary prize, The Good Eating Award, and named a Food & Wine Best New Chef in 1986.

His other ventures include Mangia Trattoria in his hometown of Kenosha, Wisconsin and as the chef/partner of Terzo Piano at new The Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago. Mantuano’s first cookbook, The Spiaggia Cookbook, was lauded by Food & Wine magazine as one of the top 25 cookbooks of 2004. In 2008, Mantuano co-authored Wine Bar Food with wife Cathy, which was the inspiration for WINE BAR FOOD outposts at the 2008 and 2009 U.S. Open Tennis Champions. He has also made numerous television appearances and has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, and Food & Wine and is a frequent contributor to local Chicago television and radio stations.

In addition to his 2005 honor, Mantuano’s Spiaggia also received James Beard Foundation nominations for Outstanding Restaurant in America in 2006 and 2007 and for Outstanding Service in 2008 and 2009. The Mantuanos were honored with the keys to San Martino in the Italian region of Molise (the ancestral home of Cathy Mantuano) for serving authentic Italian cuisine to President Barack Obama, a long-time guest who celebrated his presidential election victory at Spiaggia in 2008.