TC News & Information 7.13.10

Remember Chef Brian Hill from Top Chef San Francisco? How about Mia Gaines-Alt from Top Chef Los Angeles? The Root has a nice feature on African-American Top Chef contestants from the current and past seasons. Read it here.

The Top Chef franchise got 5 Emmy nominations this year. The original show received nods in the categories of Outstanding Reality Competition, cinematography, interactive media creative achievement, and picture editing. And Top Chef Masters received a cinematography nomination. Go Top Chef!

There's a Facebook campaign to bring back Chef John Somerville for another season of Top Chef. It worked for Betty White and SNL, so who knows? Click here to join the group.

Find more interviews with last week's eliminated cheftestants Lynne Gigliotti and Arnold Myint at Fancast!

Bravo Exit Interviews - John Somerville

ATC Interview with Chef John Somerville

Click here for the All Top Chef podcast with Chef Somerville.

(Image credit: MLive.com)

ATC Love to Chef John Somerville

Chef John Somerville made a risky move by making a dessert as the first dish he would prepare for the Top Chef judges and it did not pay off. Since the challenge was to create a dish that would reflect where he was from, Chef John chose to focus on the maple which flows through the trees in Michigan. His Maple Mousse Napoleon with Crisp Macadamia Nut and Vanilla Sauce was not a hit, however. Tom Colicchio said that he couldn't taste the maple while others commented on how soggy the pastry was. In retrospect, Chef John felt that he should have made his pastry from scratch, but chose to use store-bought pastry to save money for the other ingredients. While the gamble did not work, we wish him well in his future endeavors.

This post is only for positive comments about Chef John Somerville. If you have anything negative to say about him or any of his competition, please leave a comment here.

Top Chef 7 - Meet John Somerville

AGE: 42
HOMETOWN: Ohio -- Currently resides in West Bloomfield, MI
PROFESSION: Chef de Cuisine, The Lark
CULINARY EDUCATION: BS In Engineering, University of Michigan
FAVORITE RECIPE: Spiced Spring cucumbers with dill

Growing up in rural Ohio, John developed an appreciation for farm fresh ingredients at a young age. He attended the University of Michigan and earned a degree in Engineering before deciding to pursue his culinary dream. In 1994, he joined The Lark as a Garde Manger, working his way up the ladder to his current position as Chef de Cuisine. He has received two James Beard Nominations for Best Chef: Great Lakes (2008 and 2009) and is recognized as one of the best chefs in the greater Detroit area. His philosophy is “spreading the infectious spirit of cooking!”