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Top Chef New York Season 5

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marigold:

Tom Colicchio's Blog:

The Small Screening

It's amusing to me how so many of our cheftestants said, in response to this week's Elimination Challenge, that they did not want to "do TV" in their careers as chefs ... while they're doing TV to advance their careers as chefs. As I recall, they were saying those words directly into the lens of a television camera. Let's face it: The media has long been a critical factor in shaping high-level careers of all kinds, and today's Top Chefs must be able not only to cook, but to generate heat about their cooking. On TV.

If a chef can get on television, whether local or national, s/he should not hesitate. Chefs should be pleased to start with local television - its viewers, of course, are your future patrons, and this is your moment to hook them. You're establishing relationships. If you do a good job the first time, you will have made the segment producer look good to his/her boss and they'll be happy to have you back, which, of course helps as you progress in your career and want to promote newer ventures. Here in NYC, the chefs' entrée to television is usually CBS's "Chef on a Shoestring", which is great. The national morning shows are the biggies that you ultimately want to be on, but they usually won't let you on until you show them some tape and they like what they see. This is another reason it's important to do something in your local market and to do it well. I have always finished my segments and I've never had a major disaster.

This is not to say that I haven't had my share of anxiety. My first time on television was the worst experience of my life. In '91, right after winning Best New Chef from Food and Wine magazine, I was asked to appear on Regis and Kathy Lee. I was doing a braised red snapper in a lemon rosemary vinaigrette with roasted red peppers and an eggplant caviar napoleon. I was told to be there at 8 a.m. and showed up prepped and ready to go ... only to be yelled at by the producer, who said I should've been there at 6, had missed rehearsal, and "was going to screw it all up." Nowadays, there is someone on the set to help you set it all up; back then, it was just me, setting up off-camera. And this producer kept coming by every five minutes to shout at me that I was going to screw it all up. To make matters worse, Regis made a few references to missing rehearsal that I thought were directed at me, too, until I realized that he himself had missed rehearsal and was actually busting on himself. The segment went off without a hitch and the producer who had been yelling at me beforehand was thrilled with me afterwards, offering to have me back any time I wanted ... while I was thinking "Are you kidding? I was so nervous, I'm NEVER doing live TV again."

Clearly, I got over it. TV's actually very easy to do. You can make things as complicated or as simple as you want. The best way to assure you finish on time is to have swap-outs, where food is already prepared. You can have as many swap-outs as you like, to use along the way, and you should always have a beauty plate done. Jamie was looking to do her entire dish in the two minutes allotted, which is why she came up short. Leah should have had a duck already cooked, should have had the relish already made, and should've had the whole thing already plated. You'll notice that Stefan didn't try to make his whole soup in two minutes - he had the ingredients ready to show us how to make it, but then had the soup finished for a swap-out. Jeff handled his segment perfectly: He had a beauty plate ready, and the food was really good. In that segment on Regis and Kathy Lee, I had swap-outs for every step of the process: I had the fish raw, plus in the oven, plus the beauty-dish already made. The various elements of the eggplant caviar napoleon were ready, as was the fully assembled dish, and I swapped at each step. It's the only way I could be sure to finish the segment successfully in the time allotted.

A lot of our contestants didn't make it on time. We were trying to distract them, because this is exactly what happens on air: The hosts will be asking a barrage of questions throughout. Speaking of the host, always ask him or her to help you ("Can you stir this for me?"), which none of our cheftestants did. Engage the host. He or she is the one with whom the audience feels a connection, so you are being introduced to your viewers through the host and need to establish that you have a rapport with him or her. No matter what. Once, in Dallas, the on-air talent mispronounced my name and introduced me as the new chef of the W Hotel. I didn't correct him, which would have been a gaffe, but at the end I just put in a plug for "the new Craft Restaurant at the W Hotel". As for your rapport with the audience, mugging like Daniel did doesn't usually go over well. It's just unprofessional. And as for rapport with the crew, I always bring a ton of extra food for the stagehands. These folks have been at work since 4 a.m., so by the time you're on at 10, they're pretty hungry.

Finally, when doing a segment on TV, you're usually there for a reason such as a new restaurant. You want to take that moment and shine, plug your work, and, in the very short time allotted, find that one message to put out there and then stay on that message the whole time, using descriptive words that help convey the food to an audience that only has a visual of it. Ariane did all of that really well. She mentioned her restaurant in New Jersey right up front, she highlighted the fresh Jersey ingredients that she'd chosen to honor the state, and pointed out that the ingredients were readily available and the recipe easily accessible to the home viewer. The only caveat I'll make is that you want to pick a signature dish that will help set you up, and there wasn't anything unique enough about Ariane's selection to do that for her.

This challenge was a test of both flavor and presentation, and presentation of the chef as well as the food It was as "New York" as a challenge could be, and I encourage our cheftestants to hone the skills required to master it. By the way, I was asked to do Top Chef based on a segment the producer of Top Chef saw on the Today show. I'm glad that segment went off without a hitch.

Link: http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/season/5/blogs/index.php?blog=tom_colicchio&article=2008/12/the_small_screening

marigold:

Next week on Top Chef New York

December 10, 2008

GAIL'S BRIDAL SHOWER

In the fifth episode of "Top Chef: New York," host and judge, Padma Lakshmi solicits the help of the chefs in arranging a bridal shower for Top Chef judge Gail Simmons and her friends. Wedding traditions are timeless, so in a twist of formality, the chef'testants are teamed up to cook a course based on a fabled ritual. Gail Simmons' friend, Editor-in-Chief of Food & Wine Magazine Dana Cowin guest judges.

marigold:
An interesting article:

Top Chef 5:Conference Call with Alex Eusebio

In last week's Foo Fighters Thanksgiving episode of Top Chef 5, Alex Eusebio emerged with a little more screen time than he'd had since this new season premiered. That could only mean two things: either he was on his way up…or on his way out.

Although his performance in that episode was solid, last night things took a turn for the worse and a failed crème brulee sent him packing. Alex spoke with us today about his time on the show, how he felt about Melissa Harrison “throwing him under the bus” and how his fiancée felt about him going on the show so soon before their wedding.

Alex admits that after watching the episode, he does feel a bit like Melissa's comments were designed to help build the case for keeping her over him on Top Chef 5. But, he says, there are no hard feelings. He calls Melissa a “sweetheart,” and says they can joke about things now, with Melissa signing messages “the busdriver.”

I asked him if what I thought I was seeing in the episode – Leah Cohen nudging Melissa to handle judging as she did – actually happened. Alex says it might have been partially that, but if Leah had a hand in it at all, it was as a friend, not crafty competitor. The chefs appear to have broken off into groups of friends: Alex said that he, Carla Hall, Ariane Duarte, Jamie Lauren and Richard Sweeney were one group; Melissa, Leah and Hosea Rosenberg were another; and the Euro duo of Fabio Viviani and Stefan Richter got along with Eugene Villiatora and Danny Gagnon. (I forgot to ask him where Jeff McInnis and Radhika Desai were in all this.) So it was natural, Alex seemed to be saying, that Leah would help her friend plan a strategy for the judging.

Alex says that his main flaw was that his crème brulee didn't set, but he felt the flavors of it were strong. He admits it's possible he could have had a better chance at staying if he had “wanted it more” and made more pointed comments about the other dishes at judging. But he did have a lot on his mind, having left for the competition without a tux ready or vows written for his wedding, which happened on August 24.

I asked him how he had convinced his fiancée to let him go on the show so close to their wedding, and he said actually it was the other way around. She's in entertainment, and so knew the chance to get exposure on the show would be good for his career. He said it was her insistence that pushed him to go on the show and she has been very supportive.

One of the reasons he was reluctant to go on the show is that – as he mentioned during the episode – he can be a little shy. But having had this “dry run” as he put it, he said he finds he feels less reluctant to take on the more public parts of being a more successful chef. He said it's even made small things, like visiting with customers in the restaurant, easier.

His nerves during the challenge might have been made worse by proximity to Padma Lakshmi, who is, as Alex noted, as stunning in person as one would expect. He feels that Tom Colicchio is an excellent chef and deserving of his reputation. He wasn't as thrilled with Rocco DiSpirito as a guest judge, saying he does have trouble imagining Rocco sweating on the line in a busy kitchen.

As to what he thought of his fellow chefs, he joked he was still mad at Richard for writing the farewell letter that made him cry. He said he admires Jamie's talent the most and feels that Carla is ego-free. Not so much for Stefan and Fabio, but he wonders if their egos will eventually “cancel each other out.”

We'll see if Alex's prediction comes true as Top Chef 5 continues.

Link: http://www.buddytv.com/articles/top-chef/top-chef-5conference-call-with-25024.aspx

marigold:
An interview with Alex:

Top Chef’s Alex: I Hated the TV Challenge

This week, the chefs didn’t just have to cook under pressure. They had to present their food in a live TV segment — and complete a dish in less than two minutes. After serving up some undercooked crème brulee — and going over his time limit — Alex Eusebio was sent packing. But there was good news for the chef: After leaving the show, he got married on Martha’s Vineyard in August.

Calling to discuss his elimination, Eusebio opened up about the challenge — he hated it, as it turns out — and tackled our five burning questions.

Congratulations on your wedding. Can you talk about how that affected your time on the show — if it did at all?
Going into the show, I knew I was getting married, so I had bigger things on my plate. And it affected my performance because everyday I’d think about what’s going on with the wedding. While I was away, I got freaked out. I was like, “Oh my god I’m getting married. I’ve got to write my vows!”


Were you surprised that Melissa used that against you at the judges’ table?
I was like, “I can’t believe she said that.” At that point you could tell [from] my body language I didn’t really want to be there. It wasn’t fair to my wife, so maybe that’s what [Melissa] read into. I was a little surprised and a little disappointed that she would do that. One of my rules was don’t throw anybody under the bus. [But] my attitude factored in. If I would have said something, I think I would have stayed.

Do you regret not making a more vocal defense?
Not really [at the time]. Now, I wish I would have actually. It’s after the show when all your friends are like, “I can’t believe you were on the show. It’s such a big deal.” I really didn’t think it was that big of a deal.

What did you think about this challenge? It was rather unconventional for the show.
I hated the challenge from the beginning. I didn’t like it. It wasn’t cooking in my opinion. Some of us do not want to be on camera. Some of us do not want to be the Rocco DiSpirito’s of the world, and I’m one of those guys. [Also] a lot of my cooking [involves] braising and something that took a little bit longer than an hour worth of cooking.

Was fair that you were eliminated since this challenge called on you to do more than just cook?
Was it fair? We all had to do it, so we’re in the same boat. Do I like the challenge? No. But is it fair that I went home? Yeah, I’m fine with going home.

Our Top Chef 5 Burning Questions:

Describe your Top Chef experience in one word.
Entertaining.

What is in your refrigerator right now?
Beer, leftovers, rice, leftover Chinese food, milk, more beer — I have a drawer full of beer and fine cheese.

Name one food you cannot stand.
Indian food. I’ve had a bad deck of cards. Everybody knows that I don’t like Indian food, and my first challenge was [to cook] Indian food.

Pick your favorite fast food restaurant.
Carl’s Jr.

Best thing about cooking in New York?
Motivation and inspiration. You just get inspired to cook in New York.

Link: http://tvwatch.people.com/2008/12/04/top-chefs-alex-i-hated-the-tv-challenge/

marigold:
Interview with Richard and Alex:

Top Chef’ Exit Interviews: Episodes Three and Four

It’s been a strange couple of weeks for Top Chef fans. Last week’s Thanksgiving Eve episode pitted the cheftestants’ skills against culinary tastes both highbrow (Grant Achatz) and lowbrow (the Foo Fighters) in Rochester, which is a city in New York, but not New York City. In the end, Team Rainbow was demolished when Richard Sweeney, the bearded 27-year-old who was an open admirer of Tom Colicchio, got the boot for serving s’mores. And things got strange in last night’s episode of the competitive cooking show when the cheftestants competed to see who could cook best on a non-cooking program. After a Quickfire in which almost no one followed the rules, most of the cheftestants continued to perform abysmally, but perhaps none more so than Alex Eusebio. With a crème brûlée that didn’t set and a not-made-for-TV personality, he was given the old heave-ho. We spoke to both about being dismissed for failed desserts and about life after the show.

RICHARD

The sole member left from Team Rainbow is Jamie. What are her chances?
She’s had a lot of really good dishes and she started to get recognized for them in the second episode with “show us your craft,” and they liked some of the stuff she made for the Foo Fighters. So I know she’s just starting to get into a rhythm and I think that’s really going to start to show in her performance.

Your non-rainbow team was called the Cougars, after Ariane. Is she really a cougar?
She’s not a cougar — she’s a mom, married with kids. It was kind of the nickname we started to give her because she’d be up first thing in the morning running around in her little workout outfit.

Before you left, were you getting sick of Fabio and Stephan’s sort of mutual lovefest?
It’s really edited to show them spending a ton of time together. I thought they were more entertaining than anything else, especially when you throw Danny into the mix and you’ve got three different accents and three people trying to say the same thing but nobody knows what any of them are talking about.

It seems like the younger chefs are consistently being eliminated — Lauren was 24, Patrick was 21, Jill was 28, and you’re 27.
I think it’s just the experience factor coming in and it’s everybody’s ages. I mean, I didn’t get started cooking until about two years ago. Had I started this when I was 18, I could have been in a totally different situation.

Grant Achatz didn’t respond to your soup well in the Quickfire. Besides lacking acidity, what was wrong with it?
Everybody cooks their food at the same time and when they get around to tasting your food is when they get around to it. Mine was a bean soup that had rice in it. By the time they got around to my side, it had cooled down a lot, and the rice had really absorbed a lot of the liquid. So they were saying it was really thick — way too thick for soup.

You seemed surprised to go.
I had two dishes that they really didn’t like, but I had one dish that they really enjoyed. I genuinely was surprised that Padma said my name. It was more of a look of shock. Like, ‘Wait, what?’ Everybody confused Danny and I for the first week that we were there. So I was like, ‘Wait a minute, did you just mean to say Danny and said my name?’

Do you miss seeing, as you called him, “Tom Hottie Gay Bear Icon Colicchio” on a regular basis?
I’m never ever going to escape that. I do think Tom’s really cute. And the other part of it is every time you’re around somebody who really knows their stuff and is super competent in what they do and is super successful because they know their stuff so well, it's just nice to be around that person. But if I manage to get back on for season six, I’ll keep the Tom talk to a minimum.


ALEX

Were you surprised by your elimination?
Not really. I think it had the snowball effect — Richard left before, and I was bummed out a little about that, and right from there we went to another Quickfire and Elimination Challenge. Not only Richard, but Thanksgiving, I was bummed about that too — my team losing.

Were you distracted or did you want to leave?
I’m getting married, and I didn’t prepare for the wedding — my poor wife had to do everything by herself — that was kind of freaking me out. My vows hadn’t been written, suit hadn’t been measured, none of that kind of stuff. I think a couple of people were trying to annoy me. So I thought, before I blow up at somebody, it’s time for me to go.

What were you annoyed by? The strong personalities?
I’m not really too used to all the camaraderie in the show. And the European people — that was kind of annoying. Okay, we get it, you’re from Europe.

If you weren’t distracted, would you have done better?
This particular challenge would have been tough for me anyway. It was a really specific challenge, and something that I was never good at, which was talking in public.

Does a top chef need TV skills?
No. No, no, no. The Thomas Kellers of the world don’t really go on TV. The TV world is another different group of people.

What did you learn from the show?
I learned where I was. Being in L.A., it’s kind of like an island. You don’t know where you stand compared to other people. Now I know where I stand.

What are your plans now?
My wife, a singer, wants to go back on Broadway, so we might go to New York! It’s a good time to go to New York for us right now. So either L.A. or New York, but you’ll hear about me somewhere. A musical restaurant!

Link: http://nymag.com/daily/food/2008/12/top_chef_exit_interview_episod_1.html

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