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| Nicole Bengiveno/NYT |
Cool read from the May 1 NYT on how New York-based Top Chef contestants fare once the show's over. Featured are Leah from Season 5, Season 1 winner Harold, Season 3 winner Hung and Season 4 contestant Nikki. The skinny: Though $100K and the title of Top Chef (not to mention the Gladware!) looks quite sexy on paper, it doesn't always go far in translating to off-screen success:
... [Harold] Dieterle, for his part, quickly learned that investors were more interested in a solid business plan than a star turn on a reality show, and that his winnings wouldn�t go far.
"It's kind of like being handed a case of vodka and saying, go open a bar," he said. "It's not going to happen."
Lackluster 2007 review from the Times notwithstanding, at least Harold owns his own restaurant. The same can't be said for Hung, my favorite Top Chef winner to date:
As the months dragged on, however, one location after another fell through. Finally, in January, Mr. Huynh decided to strike out on his own. But the offers that rushed in immediately after the show have slowed, and the current economic climate has made investors increasingly averse to risk.
"I'm dying right now," Mr. Huynh said with a grin to show he was joking, sort of. "I'm not a celebrity chef. A celebrity has money. A chef has a restaurant. I have neither."
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