Top Chef Alum Harold Dieterle Is Officially a Dad

Big mazel to Top Chef Season 1 winner Harold Dieterle, who welcomed his first child this week. The chef revealed his baby news on Instagram, sharing that his son arrived ahead of schedule — and during some pretty tricky weather conditions. "Someone tried to show up early during the blizzard before Dad got back from his fishing trip. 5 weeks early #HD4 #barelymadeit fishing buddy for life," he wrote on Instagram. 

Harold was in Florida on a fishing trip ahead of his baby's due date. And if just trying to fly back in time for the birth wasn't stressful enough, the NYC-area chef had to deal with recent Winter Storm Jonas. 

The Daily Dish spoke to Harold back in November, when he opened up about being a first-time dad. "I'm totally freaked out about being a dad," he explained at the time. "I want to take care of my wife leading up to the birth of our boy. We're gonna take a vacation, do some time in the Caribbean, and just relax and take the time to figure out what I'm going to do next."

Harold made headlines last fall when he revealed he would be closing his two NYC eateries, Kin Shop and Perilla. He spoke of the decision in his interview with us, sharing that fatherhood was certainly at the forefront of his post-restaurant plans. "I feel fantastic, like I have a thousand pounds off my shoulders," he said. "I haven't really been enjoying it for a bit, and [I was] kind of going through the motions to keep the staff employed. And it's time for me to have a baby in February, and to be a good dad I need to take a little break, clear my head for a little bit, and figure out what's next."

But if you're hankering for some cuisine from check out his recipe for spicy duck meatballs below.

Spicy Duck Meatballs with Chef Dieterle