Video - Top Chefs in Aspen

Tim Love, Hugh Acheson, Johnny Iuzinni, and Marcus Samuelsson sure seem to be having a great time in Aspen, shilling for Hellman's/Best Foods Mayonnaise....

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.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

TC News and Information 9.19.11

Stephanie Izard is on a mission to raise $500,000 for Share Our Strength, and one facet of that effort is a national tour – cooking with local chefs and promoting her upcoming cookbook, Girl in the Kitchen. Eater has coverage here. More on the Goat Tour website – and whether she’ll be coming to your town – here.

Steph will also be in charge of creating the menu to feed this year’s CMT Artists of the Year nominees, according the press release here.

In a similar gig, TC Masters contestant Tim Love was the chef behind the performers’ food at last week’s Austin City Limits Festival. Check out what he has to say here about cooking on that scale since he started doing it in 2009.

Michael Voltaggio’s Ink. is now set to open this Wednesday in LA, and brother Bryan hosts a benefit for Share Our Strength at his Baltimore restaurant Volt September 27.

Another long-anticipated venture, Richard Blais’s haute hot dog restaurant, HD1, is opening Thursday, reports Eater Atlanta.

Fabio Viviani tells Grub Street he’s done building Bravo’s legacy for free and instead building his own. You can read what all up to, in inimitable Fabio fashion here. (P.S., since it seems to be a topic of endless fascination, he says he has a girlfriend.)

Author and frequent TC judge Anthony Bourdain gets his own imprint (that’s publishing-speak for “line of books”), for which he will act as talent scout to acquire three to five books a year written by other authors that “reflect his remarkably eclectic tastes,” according to this item from the NY Times.

And the Emmy went to - Amazing Race. Despite Top Chef's upset last year, the best competition-reality award is back in the hands of the long-time winner in the category.

Need something to sweeten the blow? As you look forward to Wednesday's episode of Just Desserts, you can brush up on some of those terms they throw around on the show with this handy translation guide.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

TC News and Information 11.15.10

In case you can't get enough of Richard Blais when he returns to Top Chef All-Stars, starting December 17 he will also have a new show on the Science Channel, Blaisin Out, in which he uses "ultra-modern tools and techniques to deconstruct and then re-engineer new-and-improved versions of America's most popular meals using technology and science."

Speaking of All-Stars, it's not too early to book a reservation at Jennifer Carroll's restaurant, 10 Arts, for the All-Stars premiere viewing party. She'll be serving a special tasting menu of her favorite winning dishes from her original season, the 6th. Hope she's saving her favorite dishes from her upcoming turn on the All-Star season for future viewing parties.

If you're looking for an update on returning Dale Levitski, with a soupcon of inside scoop on the All-Stars, you won't want to miss this great new interview. I'm a little disappointed to read that Anthony Bourdain, who was supposed to be a regular judge for the All-Stars, alternating with Gail Simmons, judged only twice . . . unless that means Dale L. only lasted through two of the episodes judged by Bourdain (in which case, I'm also a little disappointed).

A whole bunch of TC contestants will be appearing at the Seventh Annual San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival, which runs November 17-21. Season 6's Eli Kirshtein and Season 7's Andrea Curto-Randazzo join returning All-Star Brian Malarkey on Friday night, while Season 7's Kenny Gilbert helps with the menu for Sunday’s Celebrity Chef Luncheon & Live Auction. More info here and here.

We know TC head judge Tom Colicchio likes his guitars, but this is interesting. On November 23 at NYC's Del Posto, he and a number of other music-lovin' chefs will participate in a "Music and Culinary Summit," for which the chefs will pair each course not only with wine but also with music. Eater.com calls it "the Traveling Wilburys of the kitchen" and you can find more info here.

In other musical news, Top Chef Masters contestant Tim Love bested Mario Batali and Guy Fieri in the recent Asphalt Chef Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway that raised more than $85,000 for charity. And if that wasn't enough, the cheftestants hopped up on stage to sing "Hot Blooded" with Foreigner singer Kelly Hansen, Love's sous chef, afterward. You can find video here.

Speaking of smackdowns, and charity events, returning All-Star Spike Mendolsohn made it to the top 2 but then lost out with his Thai-inspired beet salad at the recent Capitol Food Fight, which raised $500K for D.C.'s Central Kitchen. The event was hosted and judged by Tom Colicchio, Anthony Bourdain, Eric Ripert and Jose Andres. For more on the banter and ingredients, as well as photos, click here and here. You can also see video of the surprise cook-off where Tom Colicchio and Jose Andres took on Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert - and which team won by audience applause - here.

TC News and Information 11.9.10

Wow! Stephanie Izard, winner and Fan Favorite of Top Chef Season 4, has racked up some serious wins in the 2010 Eater Awards, including being voted Chef of the Year: National. Stephanie and her new restaurant, The Girl and the Goat, also pretty much swept the Chicago categories, taking Chef of the Year, Restaurant of the Year, and So Hot, Right Now awards for the Windy City.

But wait, there’s more. Top Chef Masters contestant Ludo Lefebvre won for Chef of the Year: Los Angeles (beating out TC Season 6 winner Michael Voltaggio), as well as for Concept of the Year, for his LudoBites pop-up (which we offered you a glimpse of here). TC Masters Season 2 winner Marcus Samuelsson took the Fameball of the Year award (beating out TC Season 4’s Spike Mendelsohn). And judge Eric Ripert was voted Television Personality of the Year, in a category where four of the five nominees have Top Chef connections – the others: judge Anthony Bourdain, TC Masters contestant Susur Lee, and even TC Just Desserts contestant Seth Caro. Hey, Eater’s readers/voters may include an atypically high percentage of Top Chef fans, but you gotta love a contest with a sense of humor.

And if that’s not enough crazy for you, Bravo is said to be adding another cooking reality show to its line-up, featuring TC judge Rocco DiSpirito. Rocco attempts to explain how his Rocco’s Dinner Party won’t be just another TC spin-off here. Hmmm. Could be interesting to see what Rocco’s learned about making television since The Restaurant.

In other competition news, TC Masters contestant Tim Love bested Mario Batali and Guy Fieri in the Asphalt Challenge benefit at the Texas Motor Speedway in Ft. Worth. Apparently some trash talk was involved.

TC News & Information 3.24.10

What's Stefan Richter been up to recently? Opening restaurants and flirting, of course. Read a new interview with him here.

There will be lots of familiar faces at the upcoming Pebble Beach Food & Wine event, April 8 - 11, including Top Chef Masters Graham Eliot Bowles, Michael Chiarello, Hubert Keller, Roy Yamaguchi, Tim Love, and Jonathan Waxman, former Top Chef judges Tyler Florence, Ming Tsai, Wolfgang Puck, Rick Tramonto, Gale Gand, Thomas Keller, and Jacques Pepin, and cheftestants Jamie Lauren, Fabio Viviani, Carla Hall, and Hosea Rosenberg. For more information, visit http://www.pebblebeachfoodandwine.com/.

Richard Blais claims he's not a molecular gastronomist.

Season 4 cheftestant Valerie Bolon is hosting a Culinary Speakeasy. Click here for more information.

TC News & Information 3.11.10

Top Chef Masters competitor Maria Hines was on the Martha Stewart Show recently and prepared butter-poached spot prawns. Watch the video here.

The Bungler offers up a scary fictional alternate-universe Top Chef.

Tim Love, of Top Chef Masters season 1, seems to think that bacon has jumped the shark.

So what does Top Chef Masters judge James Oseland like to eat? Grubstreet knows.

Wylie Dufresne speaks out about the future of molecular gastronomy.

Video Interview with Tim Love

In honor of Chef Tim Love's guest judging appearance on this week's Top Chef, here's a great video interview with him sharing some info about how he got his start, his cowboy hats, favorite foods to cook and eat, last meal on earth and his experience on Top Chef Masters.

TC News & Information

More news about Padma Lakshmi's upcoming sitcom. She tells TV Guide, "It’s an ensemble cast—I’m not starring in it. I will have a recurring role in it, but I have too much to do on Top Chef as well as my jewelry company. I started that all with my own personal finances, and I’m very committed to making that a success, so it becomes an issue of how to divide one’s time."

Here's Creative Loafing's latest TCM Podcast.

Starpulse.com rates the remaining Top Chef Masters contestants.

Top Chef Masters contestant Tim Love is opening Love Shack So7 in the swankiest of locations. Chef Love’s newest namesake will feature some twists on his usual menu, including a lobster roll, fish burger, and a variety of appetizers served on butcher paper. Love also will be doing a Sunday brunch. On Aug. 2, Love Shack So7 will be hosting a BBQ event to celebrate lamb. The event, called For the Love of Lamb, will feature a special dirty lamb burger, lamb cooking demos, and a celebrity chef cook-off with Richard Blais and Ilan Hall from Bravo’s Top Chef, among others. (From Ft Worth Weekly)

TCM finalist Chef Art Smith dishes a bit on his celebrity clientele.

Recap Roundup: Top Chef Masters Episode 1 (UPDATED!)

The first episode is over and we’ve all had a chance to let the results (and the new format) sink in. Now is the time that all cheftestants dread…time for what the bloggers think.

Good news for the chefs that care: so far, most of the bloggers think the show is pretty good. Maybe a little less spicy than a regular season, but general consensus is that at least it’s nice to see the food. This episode, in particular, there’s some missing of the Padma, a lot of Hubert Keller love, and a little, “Come on, Hubert. And Michael. You’re not too good for a microwave.”

In their words:

Cliffieland on GE's continued excellence: "Halfway in, Christopher learns the lesson that so many others have learned: GE Monogram™ appliances are NOT to be trusted. Naturally, his oven doesn’t work, his mixer is hosed and the freezer isn’t freezing.Good work, GE! That sponsorship deal is golden!"

KicksInfo on the (lack of) drama: “It looks like we shouldn’t expect a clash of personalities in this series — the chefs all seem to genuinely like and respect each other. I’m happy for them… but slightly disappointed for us.”

Procrastiblog on what no drama means for the bloggers: "As much as I like to act all contemptuous of the Hoseas, the Leahs, the Arrianes, and so on, and pretend they have no place on Top Chef, I’m in the snark business over here. Writing a snarky blog post about Top Chef Masters is going to be like preparing an amuse bouche with ingredients from a vending machine. I don’t want to turn out the blog equivalent of a Snickers bar with a Cheeto sticking out of it."

Philly City Paper’s Meal Ticket on host Kelly Choi: “I think they posted a Craigslist like ‘Seeking Hot Ethnic Woman Who Claims to Be a ‘Foodie’ But is Clearly Too Skinny For That Shit’”

Jordan Baker on TCM vs. TC the original: "So there's no Padma and no Tom Colicchio? The resemblance between this show and actual Top Chef gets slimmer and slimmer every moment. The hostess seems relatively sober, and they've replaced Tom with an old lady in jaunty hats."

Chew on That on Hubert Keller: “I’ll be honest: the only chef of these 4 that I had even heard of was Hubert Keller. Whether it’s because he was a guest judge in past seasons of Top Chef or he’s just more famous than the others, I’m not sure, but what I do know is that Hubert Keller seemed like the clear winner from the start!”

Top Chef Masters Review on everybody's feelings about pastry: "Michael Schlow echoed the sentiment of previous cooks when he stated that desserts were the bane of his existence."

Televicious on Tim Love’s chicken fried strawberries: “Why do the chicken-fried strawberries sound delish? Well, the girl scouts agree with me.”

Thursday Night Smackdown on the Girl Scouts: “I think you could make an entire television series out of famous chefs being criticized by Girl Scouts. I would be all over that like Ilan Hall on derivative Spanish food.”

Limecrete on the shower scene: “Hubert works some ingenious and somewhat disgusting magic with pasta and the communal showers, impressing all the judges.”

Sweet Tea and Sunshine on the “critics” (not judges): “They talk, they debate, they sort-of-don’t-like some things and mostly like others. But generally they are fairly mellow and respectful…”

David Dust on his not-so-secret crush, Christopher Lee: "James Oseland, while discussing Christopher’s Pork Chops, states 'The meat … ah, the Angels sang!'. Hey, BACK IT UP AND AWAY FROM MY MAN, Beeyotch. If you so much as mention his delicious pork again, I will cut you."

B-Side Blog on the critics: "The new judges were articulate and informed — even if I didn't quite trust Red Sweater's knowledge of tailgating food."

Give Me My Remote on the Kind-of-Glad stew room: “And oh man, how much did you guys love the nice table with wine and a table cloth that the chefs got to sit at? This is, of course, opposed to beer and lawn chairs in the store room. I think that’s awesome—keep everyone in their place!”

Foodie in Disguise on the sweet factor: "I really enjoyed this version of Top Chef. It was nice to see well-seasoned (haha) chefs battle it out against each other. There is a certain camaraderie that exists amongst them that also is very endearing to me."

My Monkey Could Do That on what’s coming up: “This season: a lot of cooking and a decided lack of drama. Neil Patrick Harris!! LOVE!”

Any other recappers out there? Send us a link and we’ll add you to the roundup.

Interview with Hubert Keller, Tim Love, Christopher Lee, and Michael Schlow - Part Two

On The Risk of Appearing on Top Chef Masters

Tim: Of course your staff always wants you to bring home the win but the risk is nothing compared to the reward when you’re going into something like this – for a charity – making a change in someone else’s life. The competition took a backseat – you’re there to make a good show and to compete with your colleagues. Everyone who enters is a winner, or else we wouldn’t be there. And you’re judged everyday in your restaurant, so this was nothing new.

Michael: Tim hit it right on the head. And our kitchen staffs – they were proud to see us go because they all follow the show. What’s funny is that you just don’t know what’s going to happen. There’s something about the comfort of your own kitchen, where you know where everything is and how long things take. But here you’re in a foreign place.

Hubert: Definitely not to prove ourselves. I think we’ve done enough in our careers to have proven ourselves. Every day, we’re not proving ourselves, but are competing with our peers in other restaurants. That’s what we do in our restaurants.

On Foie Gras

Hubert: It’s a touchy subject, especially in California. With our background, French cuisine, it’s been over 2000 years of producing foie gras. It was the Romans who learned it from the Greeks and took it to Strasbourg and introduced it to that part of France. It’s a big debate – who brought the foie gras in. Today, we know it’ll be over in 2 ½ years. I still have a heavy demand when it comes to foie gras but probably within 2 years or maybe even before that I will probably stop serving it. We were also one of the first restaurants that became non-smoking.

Michael: I’ve been to the foie gras farm in Hudson Valley – it’s a pretty amazing place. It’s like Old Macdonald. It’s a humane place. What’s more or less humane? Catching a fish and letting die or taking the liver? It’s all for the flesh.

Chris: There’s this whole idea – we raise animals to slaughter to consume. How you get there–there should be certain rules–but you could call our whole way of life cruelty.

Tim: How far does it go? If these people put as much energy into cancer or fighting autism or the March of Dimes as they do into fighting foie gras–which is a consumable animal, period–put some effort into something that’s worth a crap. We like to eat it.

Michael: A few years ago there was a story about supermarkets that wouldn’t sell live lobsters anymore because it was inhumane. There was a story about a company in Britain that was going to electrocute the lobster because it was more humane. Who was going to make that little tiny electric chair? I’m not telling anybody they can’t have their opinion, but the animals are not tortured.

On Other Career Choices

Michael: I was a very good athlete and went to college to play baseball. I was always very very good at baseball but it was not my passion. I played because I was pushed into it because I was good. But I am so lucky to have found cooking. I found it at a young age, it’s my passion, it’s my life. I wouldn’t be a baseball player if I was not a chef. I think for a lot of chefs–architecture, advertising–something creative. When you think of what we do it encompasses history, art, culture–we get to travel a lot.

Hubert: I would be in the music industry. I would’ve loved that.

Chris: I’d probably be 20 pounds lighter, I’m sure. I always had a passion to be a builder. Whether a mechanic building cars/motorcycles, I probably would’ve gone down that path myself.

Tim: Either played professional soccer or been an architect. I designed a bunch of homes in high school and college. I designed the home I live in now. I really enjoy that type of stuff. The puzzle of it, making it fit together. Same as cooking, adjusting time. But cooking–it’s the greatest job in the world. Long hours, but you party with your friends everyday. I have fun everyday, I can tell you that. No doubt about it.

Click here for part one.

Interview with Hubert Keller, Tim Love, Christopher Lee, and Michael Schlow - Part One

All Top Chef was invited to sit in on the first Top Chef Masters phone conference with premiere episode combatants Chefs Hubert Keller, Tim Love, Christopher Lee, and Michael Schlow. Several interesting topics were covered during the conversation; here are some of the highlights.

On Why They Participated

Michael Schlow: For me, the charity part was first and foremost. All the chefs involved in the show will say that. Plus, it’s an honor to be on a show titled Top Chef Masters. The regular Top Chef is the top rated food program in the country, so I think everyone was flattered to be asked. We wanted to represent our cities and our towns. The idea of doing this for charity and to get to do something fun with our friends, it was a great opportunity.

Tim Love: I’m heavily involved in March of Dimes, my daughter benefited. I think we were all a little anxious to see how it would be edited but I think it turned out to be really great and as I’m sure you can tell from the episode, we all had a lot of fun hanging out with each other.

Hubert Keller: We did it for our foundations, of course – Make a Wish is a great foundation. Is a risk involved? All of us, having our own restaurants and everything, we’re running into risks everyday. It’s part of our lifestyle. For me, also, I was participating as a judge for 3 seasons in the past and the first Top Chef was filmed at Fleur de Lys. I couldn’t turn it down. I wanted to get a feel for what it’s like in their shoes and competing.

On the Relevance of Critics

Michael: We discussed this on the set a couple of times. What we said was that everybody’s a critic – just because you don’t have a pen doesn’t mean you’re not a critic. The reality is that with the Internet and all the blogs and Chowhound and Yelp and Grub Street, there are a lot of critics out there who aren’t professional but have their opinions. You have to listen to everybody. Luckily for us, 99% are good. It’s important for us that the press stay relevant also. They’re there for us as we’re there for them.

Tim: I'd say even though there are a million blog critics and individual critics and of course the individual diners that come to our restaurants everyday, I would veer away from the fact that the professional critics don't matter anymore. I think they're still held pretty high in standards. 

Shoot, my kids criticize me every damn day. 

 
Hubert: I think it’s important that we have a standard. Someone to put the guidelines out there. You could never get exposure like through a major critic if you’re trying to open a restaurant. We all have to take criticism and learn to take it the right way. Take the good part and forget the other part. 

On the Competition

Michael: I'll say that they all have incredible resumes. We heard rumors to who was our competition. While we were out there in Los Angeles, they really did a great job of keeping us segregated and within our own group. Because this is a new format for them compared to regular Top Chef where they're all living in a house and killing each other at times. We're all friends, and I know for me, I respect each one of my colleagues on the show with me. They each bring something different to the party and any one of them could have won.

I mean it's so much fun, the styles are so different. And the thing that sort of keeps us all together is I think there's a bond between all of us, not just the four of us but everybody that's on the show. We're all friends and we see each other at food events, but to do it like this where we spend literally 4 straight days together, it was great.

And I wouldn't say any one of them, as they walked in, made me think, "Oh no, that's the winner for sure." I thought that everybody had an equal chance.

Chris: I'll be quite honest, the first press release that came out, a week and a half ago, with the full list, that was the first time I’d seen the whole list. I missed some of them, too. But you know who scared me was the silver fox, Hubert Keller. 

Tim: I would say that, like Michael said...I think that they did a good job picking everybody. I think everybody had an equal opportunity. But I'll say this, once I saw the list, and just like you said, Chris, I didn't really see the list until not too long ago, the people who had been judges I think may have had a better opportunity understanding the show. But, other than that, I think everybody was on an equal playing field except with desserts. Hubert--he's stinking pastry chef already.

On Being Fans of Top Chef

Michael:  I am a fan of the show. And we’re all friends with some people who have been on the show in the past and Hubert obviously was a judge. One of the things they do--we’re chefs and have crazy hours and work hard so you don’t always get to watch it--but they sent us DVDs of the quickfire challenges. I think it’s nerve-wracking enough to watch it once a week. But I sat down and watched all 25 quickfires in one night then I had a massive panic attack. You can understand what those contestants go through. That time goes VERY quickly.

Part two can be found here.

Questions for Top Chef Masters

All Top Chef will be participating in a conference call with the first four Top Chef Masters cheftestants: Hubert Keller, Christopher Lee, Michael Schlow, and Tim Love. If you have any questions you might like us to ask, please leave them in the comments.

Bio - Tim Love

Travel to Tim Love’s The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro in Fort Worth, Texas and you’ll find him donning a cowboy hat instead of a chef’s toque. Love is best known for his urban spin on traditional western dishes and has put Fort Worth on the national culinary map.