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So here we are, ladies and gentlemen. The final moment. And what a moment it was.
We made a few changes off the bat to our usual finale format. For one, we decided each chef’s courses would be served side by side for easy comparison, rather than consecutively. I thought this was a good idea -- eating three meals, one after the other, is long and arduous, transforming something that should be exciting into an onerous marathon. It also felt fairer -- this way the judges would be at equal stages of hunger and satiety as we approached each chef’s food.
Second, we invited Brian to sit in at our tasting. This was less of a policy change, and more because the poor guy was stranded for at least another day in Aspen. Inviting him to join us seemed like the right thing to do.
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Third,...]]>
Aspen holds a special place in my heart. In 1991, Food & Wine magazine included me in their “Best New Chefs” issue, and handed out the award at their annual Aspen culinary festival -- and my life was never the same from that moment on. I’ve attended the annual Food & Wine Festival in June ever since, and I love it every time.
There’s lots of great food in Aspen, and like all good food towns, the best chefs gravitate towards ingredients that are local, readily available and wonderful -- like brook trout, or wild game. For this reason, the Quickfire challenge, which called for the chefs to prepare a trout dish in a campfire environment, was fitting. Strangely, Casey, Brian, Dale, and Hung were surprised to find themselves in this quintessential Colorado setting for the first leg of the finale -- haven’t they watched the previous seasons?
That said, I felt a...]]>
This week’s episode just may be one of my favorites yet. Why? Because it was all about the food. It provided two very straightforward challenges, without gimmicks, that gave both the judges and the viewers a great way to analyze the cooking skills of our five remaining chefs.
Casey, Dale, Brian, Sara, and Hung were all excited about finally making it to New York City, and, frankly, I was delighted as well -- after weeks in a hotel in Miami, I was finally able to get home and sleep in my own bed. Ain't nothing else like it.
I understood the thrill for our chefs; New York has become, arguably, the epicenter of fine dining in the country, and possibly the world. I regularly play host to chefs from France, London, Hong Kong, Sydney, Spain -- everywhere -- who show up to see what is happening here, to eat, and to take notes. For...]]>
The day I accumulated enough miles to graduate to business/first class was a cause for celebration – no more yogic contortions in cramped seats, no more neck strain from watching movies on high hung communal screens, no more dismal airplane meals... I learned that in first class the seats were indeed better, but the food was still a disappointment. Oh well, I figured. I'm three-quarters of the way to flat; at least I'll catch upon my sleep.
In recent years, though, I've seen a real effort (at least in first class) to turn airline food around, especially on international flights, where airlines have enlisted well-known chefs to lend a hand. Here and there I've actually experienced greatness, like the time my friend and colleague Neal Perry flew me to Sydney on Qantas to cook for a charity fundraiser at his restaurant Rockpool, and sample the first class airline menu he'd created along the way....]]>
~Benjamin Franklin
I'd like to start by explaining my absence all these weeks on the Top Chef Web site -- this summer I opened a new Craft in Los Angeles, a big, ambitious place that gives me an excuse to troll the marvelous Santa Monica greenmarket for the kind of produce I dream of (delicate heads of cauliflower, rainbow-hued heirloom tomatoes, tiny little roma beans that would make you weep…) The opening was a success thanks to my hardworking (and very tired) staff, but the effort demanded my full attention day in and day out for the last three months. As the
season unfurled, I hoped that the foodies among you would understand my single-mindedness and not hold it against me.
Let me briefly address Tre's ousting two weeks ago, which I know from reading the message boards was an...]]>
Editor's Note: We know you missed Head Judge Tom Colicchio's blog as much as we did, so we couldn't be happier to say "He's back!" Chef Tom sat down with our very own Andy Cohen and answered the questions we've been dying to ask.
Also, watch what happened when Andy sat down with Tom and Rocco DiSpirito here!
WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? WE MISSED YOU!
I was out in LA opening a restaurant, doing my day job! Like most restaurant openings, it was a tremendous amount of work, and effort, and focus, so I had to bail on the blog until it was up and running. I was really happy to see Anthony Bourdain and Rocco blogging! They're doing such a great job and it's so interesting to read their opinions from both the inside and outside. They're giving an overview from both what they know...]]>
Well, what can I say about last night's episode? I sat down, like everybody else, baited breath, waiting to see who'd do well--and who would have to "pack their knives." I was also waiting to see which Rocco DiSpirito showed up. The breathtakingly-gifted, French-trained chef of three star Union Pacific fame? Or the "thatsa speecy, spicy meatball!" shill-for-hire and ex-reality show personality? I think we all now know the answer to that question. (Though for the first few moments, I thought David Gest had taken his place.)
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It was Joey who paid the terrible price for this unholy exercise in brand expansion/product placement. Little could this chef--of the very fine Cafe des Artistes in New York City--have guessed that he'd ever find himself standing in the aisle of a supermarket, trying to thaw a block of frozen pasta over a hot plate! Or...]]>
This week, Chef Anthony Bourdain continues his guest-blogging stint, filling in for Chef Colicchio:
What is a “chef”? A chef is a cook who leads. A chef is someone who knows how to cook and who can also run a kitchen. Leadership skills are required. Management skills. The ability to execute a vision with consistency. Doing these things means that you are constantly making decisions large and small. The ability to make a brilliant, creatively-dazzling and delicious plate of food is near worthless if you can’t do it again and again--exactly the same way--at high speed, under the gun, hung over, after a night of fierce Negroni drinking...while listening to Mexican thrash metal. And you can’t do it alone.
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So this week’s challenges were illustrative of not just the real strengths--and serious weaknesses--of the contestants, but of the general principles of good decision making--the ability to make...]]>
There are certainly those among us who feel dessert is the most important part of a meal, and dessert dominated this episode causing controversy, conflict and, in the end, calamity for one chef. As Ted Allen pointed out, the challenge said nothing about dessert -- they weren’t required to do it, but three, with Dale as the ringleader, took the plunge…and pretty much drowned.
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Was it a mistake to try their collective hands at something outside their area of expertise? Maybe. If it was, it’s probably a mistake I would have made too, because a meal is supposed to have a beginning and an end, and that end is traditionally dessert. We in the restaurant business are programmed to think that way -- that a four-course meal ends with dessert.
So I think they thought it through correctly. As judges we all acknowledged they took a chance...]]>
