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Top Chef New York Season 5
marigold:
An interview with Jill:
Out of frying pan: Snyder off 'Top Chef'
The good news for Baltimore chef Jill Snyder was that she had much more screen time on Episode 2 of this season's Top Chef. The bad news was that she was eliminated. The judges found fault with not only her ostrich-egg quiche (looked like "dog food," tasted like "glue"), but her half-hearted defense at the judges' table, too. An earlier Quickfire Challenge involving hot dogs didn't go so well for her either, when she appeared to take an easy way out with the assignment by not "making" her own hot dog.
Snyder's next step is uncertain - she has left Red Maple, where she was executive chef. But she does intend to stay in the food business, just maybe not as a chef.
Jill, you've had time to adjust to this, but how did your friends and family take it?
Well, they're on my side! So they were like, "What's going on?" But what happened, happened.
What were your expectations going in? Did you want to win the whole thing?
Maybe not, but I did think I would do a little better. I was trying to take it episode by episode. I was really surprised that they hated my dish so much. I was caught off-guard because the feedback at the restaurant during the challenge was good. When the servers were bringing plates back from the dining room, every one of mine was empty. Which means that people enjoyed them.
That wasn't the case with everyone's plates?
Definitely not.
Watching the show was the first time you heard judge Gail Simmons call your judges' table performance the "lamest defense of a dish" ever on the show. Do you think that had something to do with your early dismissal, even before a contestant whose food was spit out by a judge?
Yes, definitely, I think that's true. The pressure of the cameras really bothered me. Also, I tend to be quiet. For TV, you need someone more outgoing than I am. But I still was surprised. I thought using an ostrich egg was a creative choice, and there were good things about my dish that they never mentioned. It took a lot more skill (than competitor Ariane's dish).
In the Quickfire Challenge, you were criticized for not making your own hot dog, but I thought the way you interpreted it made sense to me. I don't think hot dog vendors make their own hot dogs.
The challenge was just to make a "gourmet hot dog," which I interpreted as something else than making your own sausage.
What's next for you?
I'm going to buy an ostrich farm.
Link: http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/bal-to.topchef21nov21,0,2358451.story?track=rss
marigold:
An interview with Carla:
An interview with a 'Top Chef' contender
D.C. caterer Carla Hall appears tonight on the second episode of Bravo's "Top Chef New York" Season 5.
The former hotel chef and L'Academie de Cuisine grad told friends she was in the Bahamas this past summer, but in fact she was slicing and dicing against 16 fellow contestants.
Hall gave us an inside look at throwing down in the "Top Chef" kitchen.
Question. Who or what did you find intimidating?
Answer. My knowledge base is solid, so I didn't find anybody's experience particularly intimidating. Jamie (executive chef at Absinthe in San Francisco) and I got along well. But she was, um, how do I say this? A no-nonsense girl from New York.
Q. How did you prepare for the competition?
A. I did a lot of blind tasting, and I boned up on deboning fish and chicken at a wholesale operation that I'm used to working with. I didn't tell them why I was doing it. I got to practice on stuff I didn't have to buy. It did help.
Q. Being in the Big Apple must have been a good thing.
A. Nothing fazes New Yorkers. We'd be shopping at the market, and the customers would say, "What's this camera behind you? It's in my way."
Q. Cheftestants seem to have certain roles on the show. What was yours?
A. Cheerleader. I wanted people to have a good time, to be up about it, to take it all in stride and not get homesick.
As the oldest, at 44, I was the calm one. Usually I'm pretty hyper, so this was new for me.
Q. Speaking of cheerleading: At some point, you invoked your "spirit guides."
A. When I do something that's stressful, I have to find a moment of peace, so I tend to meditate and get in the flow. It's a regular practice of mine. When people around me are getting rattled, I may just close my eyes and do a breathing exercise.
Link: http://www.islandpacket.com/lowcountrylife/story/672935.html
marigold:
BravoTV.com Webisodes Show Unprecedented Footage of "Top Chef" Sequester House
Published: November 24, 2008
Bravo Press Release
WATCH WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE CHEFS "PACK THEIR KNIVES AND GO" ON BRAVOTV.COM'S "AFTER THE KNIFE"
Webisodes Include Unprecedented Footage of The "Top Chef: New York" Sequester House
For the first time ever, viewers will get to see what happens after host Padma Lakshmi tells chef'testants on Bravo's "Top Chef: New York" to "pack up their knives and go." The Emmy Award-winning Magical Elves will produce "After the Knife," an original companion webisode series for the No.1 food show on cable, available exclusively on BravoTV.com starting Wednesday, November 26th at 11 p.m. EST. Each week, viewers will follow the eliminated chefs into the sequester house and capture the reactions of the previously eliminated chef'testants to see what life is like after getting the cut. Video available on http://video.bravotv.com/player/?id=845282.
"Our viewers always want more content from our series, on-air, online and on the go, and expressed great interest in knowing what happens to the chefs after they get eliminated – so we thought we'd take them on a little journey to show what happens after the knife," said Lisa Hsia, Senior Vice President, New Media and Digital Strategy, Bravo Media.
On next week's episode of "Top Chef: New York," the holiday season has arrived, and the chef'testants have a lot to be thankful for, on Wednesday, November 26 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. And this year it's not just family these cooks must impress; but also six-time Grammy Award-winning rock band, Foo Fighters, as they join the band for a tour stop in Rochester, New York. Grant Achatz, American chef, restaurateur and recently named Best Chef in the United States for 2008 from the James Beard Foundation, serves as guest judge.
Also available for fans this season on BravoTV.com, the "Top Chef Fantasy Game," where viewers can choose a dream team of three contestants each week, and compete for points based on the performance of their selected chefs. Visitors can also "Rate The Plate" and vote for the dish they think deserves top honors each week, play our popular "Memory Match" photo games, or test their Foodie IQ in a challenging quiz about all things delicious. And "Top Chef" season one star Lee Anne Wong returns with her weekly online exclusive cooking webisode series, "The Wong Way To Cook," teaching viewers how to make each week's winning recipe at home.
marigold:
TOP CHEF: TIP DU JOUR – THANKSGIVING DAY RECIPES
Published: November 26, 2008
Bravo Press Release
Bravo's "Top Chef: New York" Chef'testants Share Favorite Thanksgiving Day Recipes
NEW YORK – November 26, 2008 – Tis' the season to be giving – and from our family to yours – some of Bravo's "Top Chef: New York" chef'testants share their favorite Thanksgiving Day recipes. Need a last minute side dish or a fabulous dessert? Test your cooking skills with some delicious, annual favorites from this season's crop of talented and experienced chefs. Here's to good times and great food from your friends at Bravo.
Recipes include Jeffrey's Artichoke, Pumpkin and Manchego Croquettes, Lauren's Corn Pudding, Fabio's Gamberoni in Camicia, Pancetta wrapped Jumbo Prawns filled with Italian Sharp Gorgonzola with Parmesan Polenta, Hosea's Sweet Potato Hash, Jill's Roasted Pumpkin Bisque with Cashew Sour Cream, Ariane's Pecan Pie, Melissa's Pumpkin Banana Mousse Tart Garnished with Chocolate Shavings, Alex's Pork Belly Turkey, Stefan's Butternut Squash Soup. Recipes are enclosed.
marigold:
TOP CHEF
TODAY SHOW - ROCCO DISPIRITO
12-03-2008 10:00PM
The fourteen remaining chef'testants vie for a chance to display their skills on the nations highest-rated morning program, "Today."
The winner of a super fast food demonstration challenge will get the booking, with the chance to display their unique culinary expertise on live network television.
Celebrity Chef and author Rocco DiSpirito serves as guest judge.
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