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Food TV
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Here's TLC's description, and here's the deal on the show from us:
August 3 will see the primetime debut of Ultimate Cake Off, a baking competition show. (The full season will kick off on August 31, right after a new Jon and Kate Plus 8.) Schulson, who serves as both the host and one of the judges, says each episode features three competing teams of four people each who are tasked with creating a 5-foot-or-taller cake for a themed special occasion � in nine hours or less. ... The cakes have to have all sorts of wacky and complicated characteristics, from mechanized parts to lighting; the winning team gets $10K.
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At the outset ofTop Chef Masters, I predicted that it wasn't going to get compelling till the championship round, when the winners of the first six eps would face off in a series of so-below-them challenges in the name of a hefty $100K charity prize. Last night, the finals got rolling, and my prediction held true, as the Quickfire featured the cut-above six-pack � Hubert Keller, Suzanne Tracht, Rick Bayless, Anita Lo, Michael Chiarello and Art Smith � rocking menial tasks they probably haven't rocked in decades.
Yes, it was time for the mis en place relay race. (Y'all remember when Season 3 winner Hung STRAIGHT DESTROYED the chicken butchering challenge?) Working in threes, the chefs had to take on the thankless jobs that their staff typically handle � shucking oysters, dicing onions, chopping birds and whipping up egg whites into a stiff froth. Our fave Tom C. � heretofore known as "Big Daddy," thanks Art Smith � who dressed like how your dad dresses for church for the occasion, acted as ref.
Impressions � Lo, who did the chicken thing like a champ (lesson: always pick the Asian to do the chicken), kills it when she describes Season 3 race participant Casey as "some poor woman chopping onions for way too long." Bayless referring to Keller as a "French demigod" = somehow creepy. Smith making a "cry myself a river" crack while hacking his onions = fully expected, fully appreciated.
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Keller's team wins, and the chef, who took on two tasks in the race, picks first for Elimination � each chef must reinvent a competitor's signature dish. Keller picks Lo's scallop/urchin, sticking her with his lobster cappuccino; Tracht and Smith flip-flop, taking on seared grouper and chopped sirloin with a fried egg, respectively. (The Obamas love that grouper, says Smith � hey, have you heard he's friends with them? Also Oprah?) The last pair-up sees Chiarello handing his quail over to Mexican master Bayless, who puts his roast lamb with pasilla chiles and figs in the hands of the Italian chef.
Judging the plates are a group of TCM cast-offs, including the dude Ludo Lefebvre, who apparently enrolled in dialect lessons after Bravo subtitled him, Morimoto-on-Food-Network style, in Episode 3. Producers didn't feel the need to do this to him this time around, causing Ludo to be like "the fuck?"
The judges like Keller's urchin cream, so he gets 21.5 stars. They're also all about Bayless' not-that-Mexi interpretation of Chiarello's plate,� earning him 23. Winning, though � and earning a gushing "genius" nod from Britcrit Jay Rayner � is Lo, who tallies up 24. (Her twist on Keller: corn chawanmushi, champagne gel�e and a lobster biscuit sandwich.) Smith, who stuffed a boiled egg inside a ball of undercooked lamb (Gael Green calls it "grotesque") gets just 15 stars, but the ax falls on Tracht, who drastically overcooks her fish.
Nice how this group worked out to be relatively diverse � two women (one Asian), a French dude, a Medi-looking dude, a gay dude, a white dude who at least knows a lot Mexican people ... foreal, we're about one armor-wearing dog and one wheelchair-bound child away from
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Next week: Zooey Deschanel. (500) Days of Forcing Chefs Against Their Will to Cook Vegetarian.
love your take on the program, second only to the show itself! thanks for the links, twitters, graphics and creative mix of media ingredients. northern cali reader
Great pic of the Burger King Kid's club! I think this group is really fun together and I love watching them, maybe except Chiarello who is kinda creepy. Even though I want Hubert to win I started to get a little sad when Art was so close to getting offed. Most importantly though, did anyone else notice Tracht's pink frosted lipstick?!
Rick Bayless is awesome.
Franklin Fountain's Eric Berley, whose brother Ryan talked to Felicia D. for an interview earlier today, tells Meal Ticket that Man v. Food just wrapped up two days of shooting at their Old City scoop shop. Host Adam Richman dropped by the old-school ice cream parlor (116 Market St.) to sample their banana split and their "Mt. Vesuvius," the gigantic hot fudge sundae bulked up with brownie pieces, malt powder and whipped cream. Berley says that the Philly episode of the Travel Channel show � it will also feature Richman attempting to eat a five-pound cheesesteak from Tony Luke's � should air in late September.
For more Franklin Fountain goodness, check out Felicia D's fresh feature on Moxie soda.
Nice, looking forward to a Philly episode. We were out there last year and got some cheese steaks and they were delicious, but in the meantime I think I'm going to follow in Adam's foodsteps and get some food challenges under my belt. http://www.ibetyouwont.com has an on-going list of some really ridiculous challenges.
[...] check out the Philly episode of The Travel Channel’s Man v. Food, which filmed at the Franklin Fountain, among other spots, over the summer. Host Adam Richman will attempt to eat a five-pound cheesesteak [...]
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| Photo | Michael T. Regan |
The rest of the contestants, via the release:
The ten contestants include: Nate Appleman (Chef/Butcher, New York, NY), Dominique Crenn (Chef de Cuisine, Luce at InterContinental San Francisco, San Francisco, CA), Brad Farmerie (Executive Chef, Double Crown, Madam Geneva, PUBLIC and The Monday Room, New York, NY), Amanda Freitag (Executive Chef, The Harrison, New York, NY), Jose Garces (Executive Chef & Owner, Amada, Tinto, Distrito, Chifa, Philadelphia, PA), Eric Greenspan (Executive Chef & Owner, The Foundry on Melrose, Los Angeles, CA), Jehangir Mehta (Executive Chef & Owner, Graffiti, New York, NY), Seamus Mullen (Executive Chef & Partner, Boqueria Flatiron and Boqueria Soho, New York, NY), Holly Smith (Chef & Owner, Cafe Juanita and Poco Carretto Gelato, Kirkland, WA) and Roberto Trevi�o (Executive Chef & Owner, Budatai, San Juan, PR).
To the food-TV-geek Meal Ticket readers wondering why Garces wasn't participating on Top Chef Masters � how do you think you think a nod for The Next Iron Chef stacks up to a slot on show? Let us know in the comments.
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Carroll will use focus on locally sourced ingredients (10 Arts' credo since the outset) to produce dishes like wild salmon with wasabi pea pur�e and citrus vinaigrette and steak frites (grilled hanger steak from Jersey's Pineland Farms) with shallot sauce. Glass'll do sweets like carrot cake with Philly cream cheese mousse, hazelnuts and carrot sorbet.
The prix fixe, also available with a two-glass wine pairing for a supplemental charge of $15, is available Tuesday through Saturday.
That's a hot picture of her, I love her she's so nice.
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The final Top Chef Masters episode before the six-slot championship round featured massive amounts of dudelove. In a way, it represented both what is most and least appealing about this spin-off � while it's refreshing to watch pros hand out cellophane-wrapped bundles of luvandrespect to each other, the lowbrow, finite-attention-span reality TV fan in all of us wants needs to see jettisoned colanders, drunken screaming matches and duplicitous pan-fried sabotage on the reg.
I don't see the show getting any more trashy. These last few episodes will probably feature a good amount of bro-hugging and cheek-pecking and helping-hand-ing as the sextet reaches for that $100K donation. Maybe I'm wrong � but if I'm not, at least it'll make the Aug. 26 debut of the regular Top Chef seem that much trashier/glorious.
This week's lineup: Art Smith (former personal chef for Oprah and onetime contender for the head chef job at the Obama White House); Michael Cimarusti (seafood-focused chef from L.A.'s Providence); Jonathan Waxman (the iconic NYC chef whom I, for some reason, associate with all those funny-named restaurants in American Psycho); and Roy Yamaguchi (the Hawaiian fusion chef who's got an outpost here at 15th and Sansom). These dudes were so goddamn kind and sweet and close it was kinda like:
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In a way.
Quickfire: The chefs get assigned the "Aisle Trail" � each man has to cook a dish using ingredients taken from a single grocery aisle, with a budget of 20 bones. Cimarusti, who's referred to as a "young little chicken" by Smith (dudelove sesh starting right about ... now), gets the baking aisle; he ends up with a chocolate parfait with ginger and rum. Yamaguchi, vexed by the dearth of Asian ingredients in his area (no, there's no soy sauce in the pasta section, Roy), whips up noodles topped with a fried egg that two-thirds of the Whole-Foods-worker judges find "strange." Waxman, with the international aisle, comes up with a lentil salad, while the grains section leads Smith to a risotto. Cimarusti edges his buddies out with a perfect QF score from the judges.
Elimination: The cheftestants head back to Whole Foods to pick out 11 ingredients apiece. The twist is that their basket is then handed to a competitor, who must use seven of the 11 mystery items in a dish. So this is where it got real cute: While the chefs could've filled their baskets with a bunch of disparate crap, each gives the next guy a fighting chance, selecting versatile veggies and proteins. "I want Art to show the world his love and passion for food," says Yamaguchi, who blesses the Southern chef with some chicken. Awww. When are y'all going to go on a group camping/whitewater rafting trip together, and I can please come?
Yamaguchi admits he's not the best at thinking on the fly (who is?), and it shows in his mahi/short rib dish, as he ends up with a mediocre 15 stars. Waxman ends up with a total of 20 for his "retro '80s" (see, American Psycho!) pork chop dish, edging out young buck Cimarusti's 17.5. Smith, however, ends up on top, earning 22 stars for a delicious-looking fried/ smothered chicken dish served with a teeny mango pie. Everyone hugs and snuggles. "I love the way you all took care of each other," Gael Greene tells the foursome. Daw.
So here's the Final Six:
- Anita Lo
- and this dude!
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I'm rooting for Art.
really? I hated Art's name dropping. We get it, you cook for famous people. Keller used a dorm shower to cool his pasta. He's by far my favorite. I still think Garces or Perrier coulda done well. oh well. btw, did anyone else find Jen Carroll's scream in the promo for the real top chef to be so forced as to be unintentionally funny?
Great picture! I haven't seen this much manlove since Fab and Stefan and I love it!
rory: I agree that the name-dropping was a bit much â but I did find the way he did it amusing. I think I like Smith because he's perhaps the brightest personality on the show yet. Keller's right up there for me, too. Should I geek the F out like last season of Top Chef and do some dorky-ass POWER RANKINGS again? Anyone? I'm sure Garces or Perrier will pop up on one of these shows before we know it. Regular TC's going to have to come to Philly eventually...can you imagine GP as a guest judge? He would destroy the kids and I would love every second of it. Re: the screaming in the promo â I was just talking about that yesterday. I feel bad for the contestants in that you know the director was like "OK, now SCREAM AS LOUD AS YOU CAN!" to them, a la "YOU'RE A MONKEY DEREK!"
Power rankings! Do it! Mine would be: 1. Hubert 2. Art 3. Anita 4. Chiarello 5. Bayless 6. Tracht And yes.. this was my favorite episode by far. :)
What school were the culinary students from? I couldn't make out the logo- Was it Johnson and Wales?
[...] cut-above six-pack â Hubert Keller, Suzanne Tracht, Rick Bayless, Anita Lo, Michael Chiarello and Art Smith â rocking menial tasks they probably haven’t rocked in [...]
[...] Masters was too, but since everyone was competing for charity, there was some sense of camaraderie, as we noted â but judging by the take-no-prisoners approach of many of the NIC competitors (full rundown [...]
[...] Chef producers concoct. I don’t think it has much to do with raw ability, either â remember Roy Yamaguchi stumbling on Top Chef Masters? Wacky on-the-fly cookery just ain’t in their makeup. “Why do they sign up for the show, [...]
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I'm looking at last night's Top Chef Masters episode � and next week's � like I look at the last two tortuous days of work before you bolt for a long-overdue vacation. Conventional wisdom suggests these days are dull, but rat racers know that the exact opposite is often true � the final 48 hours before escaping via train/plane/automobile somehow always end up bogged down with more stupid tasks and useless information and vexing revelations than an entire month's worth of ass-busting. It makes me furious just thinking about it. Thank God no one will really care if I direct my hostility at a benign target like TCM.
Yes, Episode 5 had every cylinder of my ambivalence engine firing, but it also featured perhaps the most gracious star cheftestants yet � Michael Chiarello (former Food Network host and chef at Napa's Bottega; described by one friend � not me � as "rapey"), the charmingly ADHD Rick Moonen (Vegas' RM Seafood), coolcalmcollected Swede Nils Noren (formerly of Aquavit, now a bigwig at the French Culinary Institute ... and apparently Earth's only Scandanavian reggae fan) and the slightly wild-eyed Lachlan M. Patterson (Boulder's Frasca Food and Wine). These guys displayed loads of class in the heat of competition, helping and congratulating each other the whole way through. It was lovely. Almost ... too lovely.
Quickfire: In a rehash from Season 1, the foursome is tasked with creating an upscale plate based on a well-loved junk food. Though Top Chef popped off just three years ago (doesn't it seem longer than that?), it's funny how dated this challenge seems already � plenty of chefs are fond of the whole spin-on-empty-calories idea these days ("curly Fries ... three ways"), mainly because it's fertile ground to do really fun stuff. Chiarello selects fish sticks as his inspiration. Patterson goes for hot dogs, which prompts Moonen to select corn dogs (smart man!). Since Noren's Swedish, he decides to play his plate off fried shrimp.
The judges are the crew from Bravo's Flipping Out, which I believe is about how hard and/or awesome it is to flip real estate while being irresistibly sassy and suffering from immense OCD. I've never watched this show, but I'm fond of that in-The Soup-perpetuity clip of star Jeff Lewis ordering a drink that's 70 percent lemonade, 20 percent punch and 10 percent Sprite, so I looked forward to him tearing the competitors' dishes apart for no substantive reason.
Rick, in a heartbreaking oversight, fails to plate his dish in time, DQing him. Though Noren and Patterson both crank out lovely-looking offerings (poached shrimp with creamed corn, pickled tomatoes and a lobster sauce; a prosciutto stufado with pork sausage), Chiarello wins the QF with a 4.5-star-earning swordfish meatball dish. No hyper-specific beverage requests from Jeff, which is bullshit.
Elimination: Each chef has to prepare three bite-size mini courses � starter, entr�e, dessert � for a 100-person cocktail party that's attended by both real-life Top Chef fans and random-ass cast-offs from Project Runway. Noren does a seafood-centric menu featuring a diced scallop starter, slow-cooked salmon and a ganache topped with smoked tea whipped cream that freaks everyone out. Noonen kills it with an exotic fish ceviche, a well-received scallop/shrimp brandade and a simple lemon panna cotta. Patterson, the northern Italian chef, fries pineapple wrapped in speck, serves grilled short ribs with an anchovy/parmesan vin and a frangine with strawberries in lieu of the traditional pear.
Chiarello, meanwhile, is shown working the females in the crowd like a perverted carnival barker. "If I had a smile like yours, I wouldn't have to cook for a living"? Perhaps "rapey" is too strong of a fake adjective, but I see where my friend is going with this. His menu: shaved brussels sprout salad with roasted marcona almonds, "pissed-off" prawns cooked in chili and garlic oil and a marinated strawberry dessert with basil gelato that Green likens to the taste of "lawn clippings."
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Next week: The last of the six finalist slots will be finally, finally be filled. Then ... vacation!
[...] - Michael Chiarello [...]
[...] first, Quickfire: Accomplished chef/restaurateur and Top Chef Masters competitor Rick Moonen, along with the transcendently preggo-glow beautiful Padma, institute a TC first � the “Tag [...]
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Meal Ticket just off the phone with chef Michael Schulson, of AC's Izakaya, who shared some info on his new Philly restaurant at 122 S. 13th Street � a 70-seat Asian small-plates restaurant called Sampan. We'll have lots more info for you in a moment � including stuff on Schulson's new TV show on TLC � just need a sec to organize our thoughts! More in a sec, kids.
UPDATE: OK. Phew!
"I lived [in Philly] for 10 years," says Schulson (right), who formerly headed Pod and NYC's Buddakan, in addition to his TV experience with the Style Network's Pantry Raid. (He's got a new show debuting in August � more on that below.) "My son was born in Philly. My wife is from Philly. I still own my house in Philly. I had enough of being in New York, and wanted to come back here � Philly is my home."
After experiencing success with Izakaya in the Borgata, Schulson had plans to do a 200-seat modern Asian restaurant in Philly about a year and a half back. The faltering economy, however, gave him pause. "I [didn't] want to do a huge restaurant that [was] going to cost $4, $5 or $6 million," says Schulson. "I wanted to come back to Philly to do food in a cool, intimate setting, with something affordable for everybody. That's what's important in this economy."
The 13th Street space, across the street from El Vez and Vintage in a former kids' store, is about 2,500 square feet. Concept-wise, the chef says he'll draw from his experiences/travels in Asia for Sampan (that's a Chinese plank boat), featuring dishes celebrating Japanese, Chinese and Southeast Asian traditions. Think unexpected takes on spring rolls and pad Thai, steamed pork belly buns, raw fish and the like; figure on $8 to $12 for appetizers and $14 to $22 for larger places, which checks averaging out to somewhere between $20 and $40 a head. It'll have a liquor license, with affordable wine and sake programs. The chef hopes to have the place open by November.
Alright, onto Schulson's new small-screen gig � August 3 will see the primetime debut of Ultimate Cake Off, a baking competition show. (The full season will kick off on August 31, right after a new Jon and Kate Plus 8.) Schulson, who serves as both the host and one of the judges, says each episode features three competing teams of four people each who are tasked with creating a 5-foot-or-taller cake for a themed special occasion � in nine hours or less. (Schulson, who's currently out in L.A. filming, today shot an ep with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.) The cakes have to have all sorts of wacky and complicated characteristics, from mechanized parts to lighting; the winning team gets $10K.
[...] Michael Schulson breaks silence on new restaurant, television deal [Meal Ticket] Michael Schulson [Official Site] [...]
[...] hearing that chef Michael Schulson’s Sampan, which we first noted back in July, will be opening next Friday, Sept. 18. More soon; for now, check out our interview with the dude and [...]
[...] taking in Sampan, which Michael Schulson will open the public tomorrow at 124 S. 13th Street. He first told us about the project back in July, meaning the chef/restaurateur and his team whipped this all up in a little over five months � [...]
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The question that ate at me throughout last night's Masters episode was not culinary in nature: Am I gonna have to like Neil Patrick Harris less now that I know he's a hardcore MAGIC ENTHUSIAST? I'm leaning toward yes, and that breaks my damn heart. I love Doogie. I love Harold & Kumar. I love How I Met Your Mother. I even kinda like that Dr. Horrible singing jawn even though I usually mark most Joss Whedon-tainted things with my red rubber douche stamp. Why, why, why must you possess such a sincere and dedicated interest in the lame-ass art of illusion, NPH?! You've liked it ever since you were 10 or 11, foreal? You're really BFF with Ed Alonzo? Can't you just be into perverted cinema or awards hosting like so many of the other famous gay men I admire?
I am filled with NPH-brand ennui, and the only thing that can get me out of my funk is a screening of Undercover Brother.
The actual cooking part of last night's episode was OK.
The latest foursome (two more eps to go till the six finalist slots are filled): Douglas Rodriguez, exec chef of Alma de Cuba here in Phily as well as many other Nuevo Latino spots in the states; Anita Lo, the no-nonsense woman behind NY's Annisa and Rickshaw Dumpling Bar; NOLA's John Besh, who may actually rival Rick Bayless in Ilovetohearmyselftalkitude; and Mark Peel, of L.A.'s opulent Campanile.
Quickfire: Cook eggs with one hand behind your back, monkeys! (How did the albumen-crazed Wylie Dufresne not draw this one?) Rodriguez rightly calls the task a "circus act," and rocks out with one paw to the tune of an open-faced arepa with scrambled eggs and ham. Peel, whose father was actually born with one arm (I feel like this QF should've offended him, knowing that), somehow pulls off a fresh duck egg pasta with a single hand, which was truly impressive. Lo uses one of those cutty tools to pop the top off her eggs, refilling them with a shiitake scramble flavored with truffle oil and oyster sauce. Besh underestimates how long it'll take for his eggs to cook inside teeny casserole dishes and ends up earning what I believe is the lowest Masters dish score to date � half a star. Oof! Anita's dish impresses the judges' panel � which includes Gail S, eyyy girl � so much that she takes the first challenge with a perfect 5.
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Elimination: A magician named Max Maven (right) comes in wearing an outfit from the Ra's Al Ghul Pajama Collection (now @ Sears) and instructs the cheftestants to draw cards. Using some sort of trick that didn't really seem that impressive in the context of TV, he assigns each chef an adjective pertaining to magic � mystery! surprise! spectacle! illusion! wackness! � and tells them they must create a dish conveying this concept for NPH, a dude who I assume is his boyfriend (they didn't ID him as much though ... weak Bravo!) and Alonzo, the magician you know best as Max, owner of The Max, from Saved by the Bell. This got me thinking about all all the small furry animals � birds, rabbits, etc. � Max would produce out of thin air on the reg when talking to Zach and them. I bet the entire kitchen of that place was teeming with filthy free-roaming critters. You can't have a damn magic bunnies behind the line! Health code violation! Shut The Max down!
Tom C. checks in with the chefs in the kitchen of the Magic Castle ("It feels like Hogwarts," says Lo), where they're serving the guests and judges. He leaves too soon. See you in August, Tom C. Peel, who draws "Mystery," puts Tai snapper, and shrimp/garlic mash and stewed leeks into a parchment paper bag tied with a string. "So delicate," coos NPH. Aw c'mon, Barney's not supposed to talk like that. SUIT UP. Besh, working with "Surprise," asks NPH to hold a vat of liquid nitrogen to prepare a creme fraiche and horseradish sorbet tableside. He uses it to top a cucumber and salmon roe salad, while the rest of his plate features salmon tartare and tempura-fried lobster wrapped in smoked salmon. Lo, who has to convey "Illusion," creates a nifty preparation meant to mimic a scallop, using braised daikon stuffed with steak tartare. NPH LOVES IT. Rodriguez, who's assigned "Spectacle" (the perfect thing for dude since his cooking is ballsy/unexpected), does duck in four separate preparations, including one that involves a duck soup served in a flaming coconut. Problem is that he doesn't have any 151 to get the fiery effect going, so he smears the 'nuts up with Sterno gel with lackluster results.
At the judges' table, they stick it to Besh because his liquid nitrogen sorbet was too cold. (It was prepared with liquid nitrogen, guys.) Gael Greene likens Lo's faux scallop "a surrealistic painting," and the rest of the panel is also very complimentary about it. Rodriguez is docked for poor execution, and Besh can't recover from the brutal .5 Quickfire, so it comes down to Peel and Lo, whose dishes were both admired by the panel. Lo ends up with an impressive 22.5, beating out Peel's 18.5 for a spot in the final challenge.
I still can't come to terms with the fact that NPH loves magic so much.
Next week: Hey famous chefs, make a three-course dinner for 100 people with absolutely no help.
I hope that this comment serves a purpose. I found this article via google, and then quickly realized what a terrible, pretentious, and degrading writer you are. Besh is a great chef, and maybe you should pull your head out of your ass before you start railing against chefs, magic, and entertaining TV. Its much better than the dribble you put out
Bob: I never said Besh was not a great chef. Obviously he and all of these chefs are tremendously talented. It's my opinion, however, that he comes off a little cocky on TV and I said so. But am I "railing against" the art of magic with this recap? You got that part absolutely right.
Haha. I think "Bob" might be Ed Alonzo's screen name.
I really enjoyed your article, Mr. Lazor. The producers must have made it a magic episode to create the "illusion" that this cycle of Top Chef is as interesting as the regular season. Bob needs to relax and work on his reading comprehension.
I just don't understand how NPH's love of magic could make you like him less. If anything, it brings me a little closer to my dream of the idealized NPH actually existing.
Molly: My response is to look at that picture of Max Maven for 15-20 seconds.
Was it just me or was Tom C. totally manic? The only magician that could have made this group look cool would be Gob Bluth or should I say "illusionist"
"Raâs Al Ghul Pajama Collection" - ha! Hilarious. Yet true.
[...] L.A. chef Mark Peel, who competed on Top Chef Masters, has the 15 remaining cheftestants to create a dish using potatoes. No one, not even the [...]
[...] already know how I feel about magic, so let’s just get right into [...]
There's never been a Philly contestant on Top Chef. But Season 6 � Vegas � just revealed its lineup, and we've got two cooks repping. Who?! Find out after the jump. (The new season debuts August 19.)
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| bravotv.com |
Jennifer Zavala is the Executive Chef at El Camino Real in Philadelphia where she brings "border food" to a new light, focusing on Norte�a and Tejas cuisines. Born into a Mexican and Italian family, she grew up with mostly Mexican cuisine and takes great pride in her ability to cook Latino food with great knowledge and skill. She uses fresh, local ingredients in her homemade style of cooking and hopes to learn more about the ever-changing culinary scene. If she could have her last meal with anyone, it would be with Julia Child, and Jennifer says, �hopefully, she�d cook.�
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| bravotv.com |
Jennifer Carroll started as a Law major at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. But the kitchen wooed her and she went on to culinary school and quickly became a sous chef at both Julia and Caf� Kati in San Francisco. After returning to her hometown to work in the kitchens of Sonoma and Arroyo Grill, popular eateries in Philadelphia, she then went on to become sous chef at Eric Ripert�s revered Le Bernardin in Manhattan. She was recently personally selected by Chef Ripert to lead his kitchen at the Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia as Chef de Cuisine of 10 Arts. Her favorite thing to make is a really good sandwich, especially late at night after work. And she is sure to keep fine sea salt, espellate citron vinegar, black peppercorns, high fat unsalted butter and setia extra virgin olive oil on her at all times.
Eeeeeeeeee!
Y'all look good!
More soon!
How exciting! Best of luck to both Jennifers!
Wooohaaaaa! TWO Philly contestants on Top Chef and they are BOTH ladies! Easy on the eyes, badass in the kitchen. Congratulations!
all I can say is, finally. man this is better than last season's Fabio and Carla ... combined.
Not only two from philly, but two ladies from philly! awesome!
This is awesome!
I love it . I think Zavala will either be gone in the first 2 episodes, or they will keep her around for looks for awhile. Its incredible how this show typcasts each season, but I love it too much to care. I think Carroll has a shot to win this, but I am putting my money on Ashley Merriman or Ash Fulk.
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