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Top Chef New York Season 5

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marigold:
An interesting article:

Sizzling on 'Top Chef'

A few months back, Jill Snyder, executive chef at the Red Maple tapas lounge in Mount Vernon, wasn't a big fan of Bravo's Top Chef.

"I hadn't really watched many episodes," she admits, a little sheepishly.

That's probably about to change: Snyder, 28, will be on the show when it kicks off its fifth season Nov. 12.

A native of Latrobe, Pa., who moved to Charm City eight years ago, Snyder is one of 17 chefs competing for the grand prize of $100,000 toward opening their own restaurant. The reality show tests not only culinary skills, but also contestants' resourcefulness, quick-thinking and business savvy.

Although the show's finale has yet to be shot, Snyder and 16 other contestants spent about a month this summer in New York City, preparing dishes, shopping for the best ingredients and watching their budgets, all with an eye toward impressing the four-judge panel.

"It was really competitive, and the fact that you're in New York City made it just that much more intense," says Snyder, who is prohibited from discussing any particulars of what happened during the competition. "There are so many awesome restaurants and celebrity chefs up there. One of the judges, Tom Colicchio, actually owns a couple restaurants in New York City, too. It was pretty wild."

There's a tremendous amount of hush-hush surrounding the competition, as the show's producers don't want anything revealed that might affect viewer interest. Secrecy has been so tight that the names of the 17 contestants weren't announced until last week. Several blogs, however, had revealed many of the contestants, including Snyder, by staking out the shoot and working hard to identify the people they saw coming and going.

"Everything was a surprise," says Snyder. And she's determined to keep it that way.

But some of the people she's worked with in Baltimore like her chances. If nothing else, they say, her appearance on Top Chef will help put Baltimore on the culinary map. Like fellow contestant Melissa Harrison, a Maryland native now living in Boulder, Colo., Snyder honed her cooking skills at the Baltimore International College.

"She's a great person, she's just got a bright outlook and she's a lot of fun to be around," says Spike Gjerde, owner of Woodberry Kitchen and one of Snyder's mentors. "She brings a great attitude and a great kind of energy to the kitchen. I've always thought of her as extremely talented, someone who deserves a wider audience. And Top Chef has quite a wide audience."

Lars Rusins, founder of Baltimore Foodies, a group that meets monthly to celebrate the best of the city's restaurants, agrees: "I think Jill's great. She's very cool, she's young, she has this really artistic touch. She's personable, she's gregarious. The TV's going to love her."

Snyder says she never thought about being a chef while growing up in Pennsylvania. "It wasn't my initial plan, coming out of high school," she says.

During two years of undergraduate study at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, "I wanted to be an artist for a while, so I did a bunch of art classes, but I wasn't sure if that was going to work out financially.

"I think it was my aunt who suggested trying to go to culinary school, and I knew that I could pick up a degree there doing something that I'd probably enjoy."

That aunt, Kathy Baker-Brosh, said her niece showed an early affinity for cooking. "She has always been very creative, and she's always been very handy in the kitchen. She always enjoyed cooking and preparing foods for people; that's one of her greatest loves."

But Snyder insists that she never envisioned cooking as a career. "I saw it as kind of a temporary thing, just until I figured out what I really wanted to do. But then I got some great jobs, and I've really enjoyed it."

Soon after arriving in Baltimore, Snyder began working with Gjerde, first at Spike and Charlie's Restaurant, then at Joy America Cafe in Federal Hill. She also spent seven months making pastries at Red Maple - pastries that were good enough to help persuade the owners to hire her as executive chef in 2005. Making desserts, she says, is still among her favorite pastimes.

"I would say I love making sushi, and then I love making desserts, too," she says. "And everything in between. It's hard for me to pinpoint one thing. I like to use lots of different spices. I like to get influences from India, different Indian curries and things like that."

The best part of her job? Experimenting with different ingredients, Snyder says, and the looks on her customers' faces when those experiments work.

"I love just researching new ingredients and trying to figure out how to make them work together," she says. "Designing a menu that's really cool, and that people really enjoy - it's really fun to get feedback, when you have someone who's come in and had a great dining experience."

Of course, there will be no shortage of feedback on Top Chef, from the notoriously hard-to-please judges. Only this time, the reward could be far greater than a roomful of satisfied customers.

"I'm waiting to see what happens," says Snyder, still cautious about revealing anything of substance. "It's a great thing to add to my resume now. Who knows, possibly I could get a real awesome job somewhere. I'm going to go with the flow, see what happens."

Link: http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/bal-al.chef05oct05,0,7025166.story?track=rss

marigold:

Top Chef finally added Danny's Bio:

Danny currently serves as the Chef de Cuisine at the Babylon Carriage House, one of the most popular restaurants in Long Island, NY. He is best known for his Italian/Asian Fusion style of cooking. Danny was influenced by his grandmothers at a young age to cook from the heart and keep family in mind. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, he worked for several restaurants including East By Northeast, Harvest on Fort Pond, and Pacific East where he gained invaluable knowledge that made him an asset in any kitchen. His motto is: "No Guts, No Glory, No Gold!"

marigold:
An interesting article:

Top Chef: Meet Toby Young

Next month, Top Chef will return for its 5th season and this time, the show will take place in New York City, where they have found many contestants over the years. The 16 contestants will compete for $100,000 in seed money to help open a restaurant, furnished by the makers of the Glad family of products, a feature in Food & Wine magazine, a showcase at the Annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen and the title of Top Chef. The premiere will take place on November 12, with a two hour episode. The judges, and host Padma Lakshmi, will all return but fans will notice a new face in the crowd. Meet Top Chef’s newest judge: Toby Young.

Toby Young is a British journalist, who wrote the popular book, "How To Lose Friends and Alienate People". The book is Young’s memoir, about his unsuccessful attempts to become a contributing editor in the U.S. for Vanity Fair magazine. How To Lose Friends and Alienate People was turned into a movie, which hit theaters this month, and stars Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst, and Megan Fox. Young also wrote a second book, "The Sound of No Hands Clapping", about his unsuccessful attempt at becoming a Hollywood screenwriter.

What is interesting about the addition of Young is that he does not appear to be a food expert, unlike everyone else who has ever sat at judges table. Previous judges have included: Anthony Bourdain, Ted Allen, Rocco DiSpirito, and Eric Ripert. Any would seem a more logical choice to join the show full time, however, each have a full plate. Boudain has his own show on The Travel Channel called Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations and Allen has his own on The Food Network, Food Detectives. DiSpirito is currently competing on Dancing With The Stars while Ripert has his hands full with a new book, due out in November.

Link: http://www.buddytv.com/articles/top-chef/top-chef-meet-toby-young-23428.aspx

marigold:
An interesting article:

Jag's cook goes on 'Top Chef'

Could TVs next "Top Chef" be working at Jag's Steak & Seafood in West Chester Township?

Lauren Starling Hope, 24, a chef at the Union Centre restaurant, is one of 17 contestants on "Top Chef: New York" premiering Nov. 12 (10 p.m., Bravo).

The 2002 Lakota West High School graduate has wanted to work in restaurants most of her life.

"I received an Easy Bake Oven when I was 5, and that's how I knew I was absolutely destined to work in the culinary world," says Hope on her video biography posted at www.Bravotv.com.

After training with mentor Paul Sturkey, she earned a bachelor degree at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. While in school, she met her future husband, United States Military Academy cadet Greg Hope, a 2001 Lakota West graduate.

Her husband, now an U.S. Army lieutenant serving, is serving in Iraq, says Victoria Brody, Bravo publicist.

The Greater Cincinnati native will be the first local contestant in five seasons of "Top Chef," cable TV's No. 1 food show. All but the final episode were taped earlier this year, Brody says.

On each show, one contestant will be eliminated by judges chef Tom Colicchio, writer Gail Simmons and author Toby Young ("How to Lose Friends and Alienate People"). The winner will be revealed early next year, Brody says.

Celebrity guests this season include Martha Stewart, the Foo Fighters, Rocco DiSpirito and Natasha Richardson.

Link: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20081008/ENT/810080341/1025/rss05

marigold:

BRAVO'S 'TOP CHEF' AND NYC & COMPANY PRESENT 'TASTE OF THE FIVE BOROUGHS' AT GRAND CENTRAL'S HISTORIC VANDERBILT HALL IN NEW YORK

Press Release

Time Warner Cable And New York Media Serve As Event Sponsors

Tickets Go On Sale October 13 With All Proceeds Benefitting New York's City Harvest

NEW YORK – October 7, 2008 – Leading up to the fifth season premiere of the Emmy and James Beard Award-winning series "Top Chef," Bravo has partnered with NYC & Company, New York City's marketing, tourism and partnership organization, to present "Taste of the Five Boroughs" at New York's historic Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Terminal on Monday, October 27 from 12 – 3 p.m.. For the first time, a $30 tasting fee will allow New Yorkers and visitors an opportunity to experience a virtual culinary map of New York, transporting consumers to some of the city's most celebrated culinary neighborhoods with 22 restaurants represented from Manhattan's Chinatown to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx including restaurants such as Buddakan, Le Cirque, Perilla, Paloma, Water's Edge, Mike's Deli, Angelina's Ristorante and 24 Prince. New York Media, parent company of New York magazine and NYmag.com and Time Warner Cable are the media sponsors for the event. Tickets go on sale Monday, October 13 at www.cityharvest.org. All proceeds will benefit City Harvest.

In addition to tasting booths, past "Top Chef" winners and fan favorites will be manning live demo stations. Visitors will have the chance to interact and mingle with chef'testants from the series' four seasons, including contestants from the upcoming season, "Top Chef: New York," which premieres with a super-sized episode on Bravo on Wednesday, November 12 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. To meet the cast of season five, visit www.BravoTV.com. Photography and bios are available at www.nbcumv.com.

Time Warner Cable customers will be able to participate in an exclusive pre-event promotion from October 6-13 when the cable system offers 250 tickets on their website at www.twcnyc.com.

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