TC News and Information 4.11.11

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.

And a host of New York chefs are joining in HRC's Marriage Equality Campaign, including Tom Collichio, with this video.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

TC Video Sunday 4.10.11

In case you missed them, or want another taste, the All-Stars Reunion repeats at 11:00 a.m. Eastern today on Bravo, followed by a repeat of the Top Chef Masters Season 3 premiere at noon EDT.

Now that the All-Stars Season is over, Bravo has released some extended behind-the-scenes videos I found fascinating, starting with Behind the Scenes with the AD, which spotlights Team Hogan, who make a lot happen that we don’t usually get to see. (You can also find out what “8008” is code for.)

How Real Is Restaurant Wars has some great footage of the logistics behind this Season’s RW episode, including some face time for Season 3 competitor Sandee Birdsong, who is now part of the TC culinary production team. Yikes, one RW team’s oven caught on fire this season without it ever making it to air.

There’s also a great extended interview with Dale Talde and a tour of the All-Stars Top Chef house.

All-Star winner Richard Blais reveals his plans to open a “pig-centric hot dog charcuterie gastropub” in Atlanta and a small little pop-up restaurant in NYC on the Lower East Side, in this video interview from Cooking With Caitlin at the International Home + Housewares Show in Chicago.

And here’s a video of Richard’s sous-vide demo from the Home + Housewares Show via EatnListen.

You can also catch up with Stephanie Izard via NBC Chicago. Not only was she named one of Food + Wine’s 10 Best New Chefs last week, she has two cookbooks and a new restaurant in the works, and is a James Beard Finalist.

And if you're jonesing fror Spring, check out this video of Dale Levitski's new brunch at Sprout via ABC Chicago.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

All Top Chef Interview with All-Star Champion Richard Blais

 Richard Blais talks about his experience on the Bravo Show.

A highlight: Blais is planning to open a new "pig-centric" restaurant in Atlanta. Also, he very quickly realized that Mike was serious competition.

Click here for the podcast.

Thank you Chef Blais!

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Reactions to Top Chef All Stars Finale Part 3

When the three remaining cheftestants entered the kitchen for their next Quickfire Challenge, they were greeted by Wolfgang Puck. The challenge was to pick from seven classic Quickfire Challenges which occurred on previous seasons. Each chef would assign a challenge to another chef, and the results were:

Mike gave Antonia the canned food challenge.
Antonia gave Richard the hot dogs challenge.
Richard gave Mike the one pot challenge.

With 45 minutes to cook, the three chefs scrambled to get cooking. Antonia started on a curry coconut soup. Mike chose a pressure cooker for his one pot and made his version of pork and beans. Richard set about concocting a hot dog medley in a ketchup sauce on homemade bread.

Part way through the cooking, Padma entered and announced that there was another twist. Each chef had to assign to another chef one of three challenges: no utensils, one hand, and the three-armed apron trick with Carla as the other chef in the apron. Being a nice guy, Richard gave Mike the no utensils challenge rather than leaving Antonia dead in the water. Antonia gave Richard the one hand  challenge, leaving Antonia with Carla and the factory reject apron. Of course, since Mike is cooking in a pressure cooker, he doesn't need any utensils anyway. In the end, that may have given Mike the edge because he won and received $5,000.

For the Elimination Challenge, the group reconvened at The Cloisters where they met Masaharu Morimoto, Michelle Bernstein, and Wolfgang Puck. The challenge was to cook the "last supper" for each of the celebrity chefs. Since Mike won the Quickfire, he paired everyone up. Mike took Michelle Bernstein, then he gave Morimoto to Antonia and Richard got Wolfgang Puck. The last meals were like this:

Wofgang Puck - goulash, spaetzle, and apple strudel
Michelle Bernstein - fried chicken, biscuits & gravy
Masaharu Morimoto - miso soup, pickles, and sashimi

The chefs spent the night planning their meals, and then returned to the kitchen the next morning to cook for three hours. Antonia had chosen hamachi for the sashimi part of the meal, but the hamachi provided was bad, so she managed to find some less flavorful tuna in the walk-in. Richard, meanwhile, struggled with his pressure cooker. Mike, on a roll, didn't appear to have any trouble putting together his fine dining take on fried chicken and biscuits, opting for sous vide chicken and an egg yolk in an empanada replacing the biscuit.

Along with the three celebrity chefs, Tom, and Padma, the judging panel included Gail Simmons and Melanie Dunea, author of My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals. For Antonia's meal, the judges thought the miso was too salty and the chile on the tuna was too hot. Mike's chicken was deemed too dry, and Richard's spaetzel was served cold. Still, Richard was judged to be the best of the three.

For Antonia and Mike, a new twist was thrown in. Each chef had 45 minutes to make one bite for the judges which would determine who moved on and who went home. Mike went surf-and-turf with lobster tempura over beef tartare, while Antonia served seared grouper in coconut lobster sauce. The judges were split three to three between Mike and Antonia, leaving Wofgang Puck as the tie breaker. He went with Mike's dish, so Antonia was sent packing.

Should Mike have been allowed to move on, or was Antonia robbed? Who is going to win it all? Share your thoughts below.

Congratulations Chef Mike Isabella

Congratulations Chef Mike Isabella for winning this critical elimination challenge. Your Banana Wrapped Grouper with Braised Pineapple and Warm Conch Vinaigrette looked delicious. You are certainly coming on strong in the last weeks of the season.


This post is only for positive comments about Chef Isabella and his dishes. If you have anything negative to say, please do so here.

Reactions to Top Chef All Stars Finale Part 2

In Episode 14: "Island Fever" the chefs crank out 100 plates for a Quickfire, and then do a deep dive for ingredients and cook on a deserted island for the Nassau Yacht Club. (Oh, and Padma's in a bikini.)

Is Mike Isabella growing on anyone?

Were you surprised by anything that happened in this episode?

Anyone want to go to The Bahamas?

All Top Chef Interview with Carla Hall

 Top Chef All-Star contestant Carla Hall talks about her experience on the Bravo Show.

A highlight: Carla is focusing on a new line of petite cookies.
Click here for the Alchemy website.

Click here for the podcast.

Thank you Chef Carla!

Reactions to Top Chef All Stars Finale Part 1

The remaining cheftestants reconvened in the Bahamas for the beginning of the final elimination rounds. Carla, Richard, Antonia, Mike, and Tiffany arrived at an old fort on the island to get caught up on what's happened to them since New York. Then they headed into the fort where they saw the winners of their original seasons on Top Chef waiting for them. Padma explained that the cheftestants would have to go head-to-head in a cook-off with the winners of their respective seasons, and each winner would receive $10,000. To judge the competition, Padma and Tom were joined by Eric Ripert.

Everyone gathered around their makeshift cooking stations set up in the fort and dug into boxes filled with their theme ingredients. The players and proteins broke out like this:

Season Four - Richard and Antonia against Stephanie Izard using veal
Season Five - Carla against Hosea Rosenberg using lamb
Season Six - Mike against Michael Voltaggio using duck
Season Seven - Tiffany against Kevin Sbraga using pork

The chefs scrambled around in the tropical heat for 40 minutes and then tasting and judgment commenced. Tiffany's dish beat out Kevin's, but Hosea squeezed out a win against Carla. Mike beat out the formidable Michael Voltaggio. With a three-way competition, Antonia's dish was compared to Stephanie's first, with Stephanie getting the upper hand. However, when her dish was compared to Richard's, Richard ultimately won the round.

On to the Elimination Round, Padma explained that the chefs would have to cook a meal for Bahamian royalty. They went back to their plush digs at The Cove at the Atlantis to plot and plan. Then they were sent to the kitchen  for 2 1/2 hours of prep. When the cooking and packing was over, they received a police escort to the venue. Instead of arriving at a palace, however, the chefs were dropped off at Twin Brothers Seafood and Steakhouse where they were greeted by a Junkanoo street band and "The King of Junkanoo." He's royalty because he's called the king, get it? Oy!

Anyway, the chefs shoehorn themselves into the limited kitchen at Twin Brothers to put their dishes together. Not long into the one hour cooking time, one of the deep fryers began to smoke and eventually caught fire. Everyone was evacuated while the fire department put out the flames. With the food contaminated by the extinguishing chemicals, the chefs were forced to start all over.

Because of the set back, some of the chefs chose to change their dishes, including Antonia who decided  to drop her lamb dish for shrimp and grits, which was out of her comfort zone. Carla stuck with pork, but decided to deep fry it, which left the middle raw in spots.

With cooking finally over, the Junkaroo band members and the "King" sat down to enjoy the meal while Padma, Tom, Eric Ripert, and Gail Simmons ate and judged. They found fault with most of the dishes, but Mike's sous vide chicken with mushrooms, yams, and lobster hash was deemed the winner, mainly because of his lobster sauce. Richard's roasted lamb loin was also well received, although Eric found his turnip cannelloni too soft. Tiffany's pork tenderloin was called too simple and too dry, and Antonia's move to shrimp and grits was a failure because the stringy pulled pork she mixed in with the grits undermined the creamy texture. Carla's undercooked pork was the big failure of the night, however, with sweet potato and apple accompaniments that made it far too sweet for an entree. Carla was the first to get kicked off the island.

Should Carla have gotten the boot? Was Tiffany or Antonia more deserving of a plane ride home? Who might go all the way? Share your thoughts below.

Reactions to Top Chef All Stars Episode 11

The episode opened with everyone reeling from Angelo's elimination. Tiffany definitely thought she was the one to be gone. The next day, everyone seemed in a better mood. Tiffany put makeup on and Richard showed Mike some of the recipes he planned in his notebook.

Later, at the Top Chef Kitchen, the cheftestants were greeted by Food Network's Paula Deen. The Quickfire Challenge was to create a deep fried dish, but make it creative. The winner would get $5,000. The chefs scrambled around for 30 minutes. Richard, of course, broke out the liquid nitrogen and made frozen mayonnaise balls for deep frying. Mike, having seen Richard's proposed recipe for cooking the oyster of the chicken and putting it on an oyster shell, decided to do just that, but deep fry the chicken meat.

After the 30 minutes, Paula and Padma tasted and judged. Carla's catfish was not properly fried and the hushpuppies were too leaden. Dale's steak-wrapped oyster dish was also a flop with the judges. The favorite was Antonia's fried avocado, shrimp and jalapeno, grilled corn tomato and fried herbs, but because she only made one plate instead of two, she was disqualified. That left Richard and Mike, and Mike ended up taking the prize, much to the chagrin of Richard.

To explain the Elimination Challenge, Padma brought out New Orleans chef extraordinaire John Besh. He talked about the Greater New Orleans Foundation, which is trying to provide financial support to the watermen and businesses that have been affected by the oil spill in the Gulf. A fundraiser was being held for 300 people and the chefs were going to cater the event using seafood that was indigenous to the gulf. The seafood was brought out by recently eliminated cheftestants who will act as sous chefs for the challenge. The teams worked out like this:

Mike and Tiffani with an "i" - Brown Shrimp
Richard and Fabio - Red Snapper
Carla and Tre - Grouper
Tiffany D and Marcel - White Shrimp
Antonia and Spike - Crab
Dale and Angelo - Amber Jack

They all run off to the market to gather ingredients, and then race back to the kitchen for 2 hours and 30 minutes of cooking. Most of the teams are getting along, but once again, Marcel is the sand in Tiffany D's oyster. Carla is also concerned because Tre, although from The South, doesn't know anything about southern cooking.

Time soon ended and it was off to the site for the Gulf Coast Oil Spill Fund event where the chefs had an additional 30 minutes to set up their tables. The guests soon flooded in along with the judges. After a frantic service, the judges retired to Judges' Table while the chefs stewed in the stew room.

The top three - Antonia, Richard, and Mike - are called out first. Antonia's crab cake was well liked along with Mike's grit-crusted shrimp, but the win went to Richard for his crispy gulf snapper with pulled pork and citrus grits. Richard won a six night trip to Barbados, which he planned to share with Fabio.

Next, the bottom three were brought out. Tiffany D's shrimp were considered overcooked and mealy, and the glaze was too sweet. Although Tiffany D felt that much of that was Marcel's fault, she remained silent and took the blame. Carla's hot sauce and mustard overwhelmed the grouper, and the collard greens and chow chow pico did not work. However, Dale was the big loser of the night with his Amber Jack stew. The potatoes were undercooked and the mustard on the crouton was too powerful for the fish. After winning just last week, Dale was asked to pack his knives and go.

Should Mike have been called out for swiping Richard's recipe? Should Antonia have been penalized for making only one plate? And was it really Dale's time to go? Share your thoughts below.

All Top Chef Interview with Fabio Viviani

Top Chef All Star contestant, Fabio Viviani talks about his experience on the Bravo show.

Click here for the podcast.

Click here for Fabio's website - don't miss his hilarious episode recaps here.

An example: Think about it, and im asking this to all the boys out there, if you HAVE TO get run over by a car, would you prefer a Good Looking smart woman drive or a Stupid Ugly Ass guy ?? See my point ?? At least tonight ill get runned Over by a nice person….

Fabio has written a cookbook called The Cafe Firenze Cookbook, and an e-book called Did I Really Make Breakfast?

Chef Fabio has teamed up with Bialetti and will be in Chicago in March to promote the line. Click here for more information.

The busy chef is also a spokesperson for Bertolli Olive Oil.

Whew! Thank you Chef Fabio!

Reaction to Top Chef All Stars Episode 9

When the cheftestants arrive in the Top Chef Kitchen, they are greeted by a table full of fondue pots and no guest judge. Padma explains that the Quickfire Challenge is to make a unique fondue, and instead of having a guest judge, the chefs will judge each other. The winner does not get immunity, but a three-day trip to Napa Valley and a tour of the Terlato Vineyard.

With 30 minutes to cook, the chefs scramble about. Richard, of course, pulls out the liquid nitrogen for a reimagined take on chocolate and bananas. Angelo, meanwhile, takes on an ambitious combination of goat cheese fondue, endive with walnuts, and a beet juice shooter to wash it down. When time is up, Angelo is upset with his dish and wants to throw it out.

The chefs and Padma taste all the fondue concoctions and the chefs set about listing their favorites and not-so-favorites on score cards. Since they can't vote for themselves, there has to be some strategy involved. The bottom three were Fabio for his billini in fromage blanc and "Bourdain" wine fondue (that's what the description said!); Tiffany for her giant apple ricotta fritter in hazelnut chocolate; and Mike for his overly spicy lamb kabobs in feta cheese fondue. The top three were Antonia for her smoked salmon on toast in fromage blanc and creme fraiche fondue; Dale for his pho with beef, bread, charred ginger, lime, sriracha and broth; and (to his surprise) Angelo for his endive in goat cheese fondue. Richard, for all his inventiveness, was squarely in the middle. Padma tallied the votes and Dale was the winner.

Padma tells the cheftestants nothing about the Elimination Challenge, but rather sends them directly over to Rockefeller Center where they are whisked up to the studio where Jimmy Fallon tapes his talk show. The chefs are brought out for a game Jimmy calls Cellphone Shootout. The idea was that each chef would aim his/her cellphone camera at a wall flashing an array of food pictures. Whatever food the chef managed to get a picture of is the item that chef must make a dish with for Jimmy's birthday party. The food items broke out like this:

Antonia - beef tongue
Fabio - burger and fries
Angelo - pulled pork
Richard - ramen noodles
Carla - chicken pot pie
Dale - Philly cheesesteak
Tiffany - chicken and dumplings
Mike - sausage and peppers

The one proviso was that no one could use any of the following ingredients which Jimmy hates: mushrooms, mayo, and eggplant. With those instructions, the chefs run off to buy provisions. The chefs then have two hours to prep at Colicchio & Sons. Since Fabio has never made a "booger" in his life, he decides to treat it as a meatball and mix different types of meat together into a patty. Antonia doesn't have enough time to cook the beef tongue, so Richard shows her how to use the pressure cooker (I wonder where this is going?). Carla runs around like the live version of the poultry in her pot pie, and Tiffany takes a risk by making a Southwest version of chicken and dumplings.

The guests arrive, including some of Jimmy Fallon's staff and his wife, mom, and dad. The dishes are served and everyone at the table provides their commentary. Jimmy is particularly hesitant to say anything bad about the dishes because he is a fan of all the chefs, but there are clearly some dishes that do not work.

Later, at Judges' Table, Carla, Angelo, and Antonia are called out as the top three in the challenge. Carla's chicken pot pie got high marks for having a crust on the bottom as well as the top. Angelo's eclectic mix of coffee, dill, and cilantro on his pulled pork sandwich got him noticed, and Antonia was lauded for her ability to take an odd ingredient like beef tongue and make a delicious sandwich on pumpernickel rye. As guest judge, Jimmy Fallon had the honor of announcing that Carla was the winner and would appear in a cooking segment on his show. She also won a six-night trip to the Hilton Tokyo with $5,000 for air fare.

Then the bottom three were sent out: Tiffany, Fabio, and Dale. (Richard is once again in the middle of the pack.) Tiffany's chicken and dumplings was judged to be more like a Southwestern soup with flat noodles rather than a rich, creamy dumpling dish. Fabio's "booger" tasted more like meatloaf, and his decision to put grainy, melted cheese on the side was a mistake. Dale's use of a pretzel roll for his cheesesteak, while inspired, backfired on him because the saltiness of the roll was too much along side the salt in the meat and the cheese. In the end, Fabio was told to pack his knives and go.

Another Top Chef favorite bites the dust. Was it Fabio's time to go, or should someone else have gotten the boot? How much longer can Richard stay in neutral? Give us your thoughts below.

All Top Chef Interview with Tre Wilcox

Top Chef All-Star Tre Wilcox talks about his experience on the Bravo Show.

A highlight: Chef Tre is preparing to open a new restaurant, "Marquee Grill and Bar" in Dallas. Click here for the menu.

Click here for Tre's website.
Click here for the podcast.

Thank you Chef!

All Top Chef Interview with Marcel Vigneron

Top Chef All Stars contestant, Marcel Vigneron talks about his life as a chef. A highlight: The new show "Marcel's Quantum Kitchen" premieres March 7th on the Syfy network.

Click here for the podcast.

Thank you Chef Marcel.

Reaction to Top Chef All Stars Episode 7

Changing things up a bit, the cheftestants start their day at Le Bernadin, Eric Ripert's three-star restaurant, rather than the zero-stars Top Chef Kitchen. Instead of being greeted by Padma, the group is welcomed by the lovely and vivacious Anthony Bourdain. Tony tells them that they are going to meet Justo Thomas, the man who butchers all the fish for Le Bernadin. During an average day, Thomas butchers 700 to 1,000 pounds of fish, and after the chefs see how quickly and efficiently he works, they understand how he can achieve such a feat.

The Quickfire Challenge was for the cheftestants to butcher one cod and one fluke in 10 minutes. After some frantic knife work, Dale, Richard, Marcel, and Mike were judged by Justo Thomas to be the best. While the others stewed in the front of the restaurant, the four winners were left in the kitchen to battle it out for immunity. They would have 45 minutes to make a delicious dish from the fish leftovers. Tony and Justo Thomas tasted all the dishes, but Dale's fluke back fin sashimi with cucumber and fluke liver sauce along with a bacon dashi with salt roasted cod collar gave him the win. This meant immunity in the next challenge.

Back at the Top Chef Kitchen, Padma finally arrives with Ludo Lefebvre, former Top Chef Masters contestant and practitioner of the new trend: pop up restaurants. Padma explains that this week will be restaurant wars, and the two teams will set up their restaurants in the pop-up tradition. Since Dale had immunity, he was named captain of one of the teams and he could name the captain of the other team. Dale didn't want to work with Marcel, so he made him the other captain. The teams worked out as follows:

Capt. Dale, Richard, Tre, Fabio, and Carla

Capt. Marcel, Angelo, Mike, Antonia, and Tiffany.

For this version of restaurant wars, the customers would judge the winning restaurant and the judges would pick the winner and loser. The two teams set about planning the name of the restaurant and the menu. Dale's group comes up with the name Bodega, and quickly devise dishes which would be upscale versions of things you might find in a NY corner store. Marcel's team meanwhile are against his idea to call the restaurant Medi, as in Mediterranean, and cannot come to terms on a menu. The bickering is a bad omen.

Twenty-four hours later, the two teams are setting up in an outdoor space at The Foundry. They have five hours to prep and the winner of the challenge takes home $10,000. Once again, Dale's team works quietly and efficiently while Marcel's team is fighting and completely disorganized. Marcel's obsession with technique slows down the prepping process and, even when he has good suggestions, the group members have no respect for him and ignore his comments.

At long last (this is an unnecessarily super-sized episode), the two restaurants open and Marcel's restaurant has now been given the sketchy name of Etch. Dana Cowin of Food & Wine Magazine arrives with a party to judge both restaurants. It's clear from the get-go that the bad vibes in Marcel's kitchen are spilling over to the food because many people are complaining and sending food back. Tiffany, who is working the front of the house, is doing her best to schmooze the diners. Meanwhile, Padma and Tom are over at Bodega with guest judges Tony Bourdain and Ludo Lefebvre where they are enjoying everything. Fabio, working the front, is putting on his best Old World hospitality.

When the judges arrive at Etch, Tiffany is still schmoozing the customers, her cackling laugh soaring over the din. When she finally gets around to serving the judges, they are unimpressed with everything put in front of them. The dessert is the ultimate transgression, which Tony dubs, "A perfect storm of f___ing awfulness!"

Back at judges' table, Marcel's team is trotted out as clearly the worst. Only 17 out of 76 diners liked the food, and the total meltdown of the chefs in front of the judges proves how discordant the evening was on all levels. The judges send the grumpy group back to the stew room so they can bring out the winning team. Nothing but praise is heaped on the Bodega team and Richard is ultimately named the winner for his raw tuna belly and fried chicken skin with chilies and lime and chicken-fried codfish with brussels kraut and ginger beer.

Team Etch is then brought back to announce the loser. Although everyone performed poorly, Marcel is the one who is asked to pack his knives and go.

How did this round of restaurant wars stack up to previous seasons? Was Richard's dish really the best? Was it time for Marcel to go? Let us know what you think below.

All Top Chef Interview with Jamie Lauren

All Star chef Jamie Lauren talks about her experience on the Bravo Show.

Click here for the podcast.

Click here to learn more about Jamie's restaurant, Beechwood.

Thank you Chef Jamie!

All Top Chef Interview with Tiffani Faison

Top Chef All Star, Tiffani Faison talks about her experience on the Bravo show.

A highlight: Tiffany plans to open a new restaurant in the Boston area very soon. Stay tuned to ATC for updates.

Click here for the podcast.

Thank you Chef Tiffani!

All Top Chef Interview with Casey Thompson

Top Chef All-Stars contestant, Casey Thompson talks about her experience on the Bravo Show.

A highlight: Casey's best friends from the cast are Dale Levitski and Jamie Lauren.

Click here for more about Casey's Fort Worth restaurant, Brownstone.

Click here for the podcast.

Thank you Chef Casey!

All Top Chef Interview with Spike Mendelsohn

Top Chef All Stars competitor, Spike Mendelsohn talks about his experience on the Bravo Show.

Click here for the podcast.

Spike has written a cookbook and plans to open several new restaurants.

Click here to learn more about Good Stuff Eatery, and click here for We The Pizza.

Thank you Chef Spike!

ATC Love to Chef Spike Mendelsohn

Team challenges are always the dodgy obstacles of early elimination rounds, and even the best chefs can be tripped up by the group dynamic. That appears to have been the problem for Spike Mendelsohn, whose tomato tamarind soup, olive oil poached shrimp, pineapple, tomatoes, and dill was judged to be the worst dish of the Elimination Challenge. The downfall of the dish could have been the overcooked shrimp, which was clearly on Spike, or it could have been the components added by his teammates at the last second before serving. Either way, Spike had to take responsibility for the dish and its shortcomings.


Each elimination in this All-Star competition seems particularly sad since we are seeing many of the brightest stars from the previous seven seasons. It's difficult to see any of them go, but go they must, so we bid a regretful farewell to Spike. Of course, with a successful restaurant business and a cookbook in the bookstores, we certainly have not heard the last from this talented chef.

This post is only for positive comments about Chef Spike. If you  have anything negative to say about him or his competition, please do so here.

Congratulation Chef Carla Hall!

Carla has often shown herself to be the calm, cool professional and her zen-like composure stood her in good stead for this week's episode. After seriously cutting her finger during the Elimination Challenge, Carla had her finger bandaged up and she kept on cooking. Good thing too, because her African ground nut soup with baked sweet potatoes, adzuki beans, and peanuts not only helped Team Orange clinch the win, but it was also deemed the best dish of the evening.


This season of Top Chef is super-charged with highly vocal, dominating chefs, but Carla finds a way to quietly rise to top. It will be interesting to see if her cool demeanor helps or hurts her as the competition heats up.

This post is only for positive comments about Chef Carla. If you  have anything negative to say about her or her competition, please do so here.