Topic: Top Chef New York Season 5

[TexasLady]

It's a fine commercial, but I cannot imagine Padma really having Carl's Jr. burgers as a major part of her diet. I can imagine her ordering a $6 menu item, however.

I can't either.   Nor wearing that beautiful dress while eating that drippy burger but it is a fine commercial.

[marigold]

Top Chef Tour:

Top Chef Kicks Off 21-City Tour



American Idol and Dancing with the Stars aren't the only shows that love to hit the road during the off-season. Top Chef just kicked off its second nationwide tour — aboard a spanking-new 18-wheeler specially fitted with power, water and state-of-the-art kitchen.

The 21-city journey began Friday in New York City, featuring on-site demonstrations and tastings hosted by Season 5 winner Hosea Rosenberg and Season 4 cheftestant Nikki Cascone — and a merch table that offered "I Heart Fabio" and "I Have a Culinary Boner" T-shirts.

While the chefs whipped up curry shrimp with jasmine rice (it was delectable!), Hosea dished on his experience on the show. A proud member of the Bacon of the Month Club, he had nightmares for more than two months after filming. "I'd wake up and be like, "Ah! Where's the chicken?!'" said the Top Chef. 

Nikki, on the other hand, revealed the secrets of the Stew Room. "There was a lot of alcohol, filming and stress," she said. Things got so crazy they blew up garbage bags  — from the Glad family of products — and wrapped them around a fellow contestant to create "Glad Man."

So what's shakin' with the two culinary gurus these days?

"I'm getting married May of next year, and Christian Siriano of Project Runway designed my dress, so it will be one of a kind." Nikki told TVGuide.com. "And I'm about to launch my clothing line. I have trouble finding chef coats that fit me, so I decided to do a different line."

Hosea, who recently told us he had plans to open his own restaurant, announced he is tabling the idea for now. "We had some things in the works, but I realized that once the show aired, there were so many more opportunities," he said. "I will open a restaurant, but probably not until the end of the year. I want to do food festivals and events like this first."

And for those of you curious if Hosea and Leah will be reunited (and it feels so good) during the tour's NYC stop, the answer is yes. "We're going to meet up," said Hosea. "We're both single now and allowed to go on a dinner date."

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Chef-Tour-1004487.aspx

[marigold]

Top Chef Tour:

WEEKEND HOT PICKS IN ENTERTAINMENT



Bravo's "Top Chef" puts the pedal to the metal and foot to the floor today and tomorrow when it begins its 21-city promotional tour in a 44-foot-long, 18-wheel mobile kitchen that's built to cook. The show's fifth-season winner, Hosea Rosenberg (right), and season-four standout Nikki Cascone will cook up samples and give cooking demonstrations for foodies at the Flatiron Pedestrian Plaza (Broadway between 22nd and 23rd streets) today from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and tomorrow from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. While there are only 60 seats on the semi-trailer itself, you can also watch "Top Chef: The Tour Two" on a 50-foot TV. For more info, go to bravotv.com/thetour.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/03272009/entertainment/weekend_hot_picks_in_entertainment_161522.htm

[marigold]

Video:

An Interview with Top Chef's Patrick Dunlea

Patrick is currently a student at the Culinary Institute of America. With an inherent love for cooking, he was inspired as a child by his mother and grandmother and today by food writer Michael Pollan. Patrick has always had a love for the arts, both performing and visual and tries to incorporate them into every dish he creates. With ingredients as his medium of art, he is inspired by quality and freshness and enjoys making fresh vegetable dishes like succotash, pisto and ratatouille. He has a passion for sustainable agriculture and hopes to educate and promote support for local farmers and growers.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg0c227JMJU

[marigold]

An interesting article:

Top Chef’s Fabio Viviani Eats New York



While Fabio Viviani doesn’t have plans to move to New York (“You go in a cab in New York, you get out, you just want to punch somebody in the face. I’m a very peaceful person”), the Top Chef contestant was in town last week to promote the Café Firenze cookbook (out in May) and scout a Village location for a local outpost. Since leaving the show, Viviani scored another book deal (with his mom) and has contributed to the nutritious-eating site KidsHealthCafé. We managed to stop the season-five fan favorite long enough for him to share his New York Diet.

Full article here: http://nymag.com/daily/food/2009/03/top_chef_contestant_fabio_eats.html

[marigold]

Video:

Hosea returns to Jax FIsh House

Newsteam's Jenna Levesque reports on Top Chef winner Hosea

returning to his previous chef position at Jax after winning the popular Bravo series


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doQnYIJwVdg

[marigold]

An interesting article:

Churchill Downs Welcomes 'Top Chef' to Infield Club for 2009 Kentucky Derby and Oaks

Churchill Downs will welcome one of cable television’s most-watched shows, Bravo’s Emmy® and James Beard Foundation® Award-winning “Top Chef,” to the Infield Club on Kentucky Oaks and Derby Days, May 1-2, 2009.  Top Chef: The Tour will be part of Churchill’s new Infield Club hospitality area, which allows Derby and Oaks guests to enjoy the exuberant party atmosphere of the traditional infield with an upgraded twist.

The Top Chef Tour will be included in Bravo’s special one-hour telecast, “Ladies First: Bravo at the Kentucky Derby,” on May 1 from 5-6 p.m. EDT. The program will feature the food, fashion and celebrity experience associated with Kentucky Oaks 135; live coverage of the Derby’s sister race, the Kentucky Oaks; and highlights of special on-track events related to Churchill Downs’ new partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, which leads the global movement for breast cancer research, education, advocacy and community support. Top Chef: The Tour will also be featured as part of NBC’s May 2 coverage of Kentucky Derby 135, beginning with celebrity Red Carpet arrivals at 4 p.m.

The Infield Club is a new, secured hospitality area in the center of the Churchill Downs infield.  It offers amenities that include a 430-foot bar, private mutuel windows, JumboTron televisions, sports bar-style food offerings, disc jockeys, limited shaded seating areas available on a first-come, first-served basis, and upgraded restroom facilities.  Each Infield Club ticket purchase includes all-day track admission and Infield Club access.  Tickets are currently available at a cost of $150 per person for Derby Day and $50 per person for Oaks Day.  Guests planning to attend both the Oaks and Derby can save money buy purchasing a two-day ticket package to the Infield Club for $175. Tickets to the Infield Club may be purchased online while supplies last at www.kentuckyderby.com/infieldclub.

“We are excited to host Bravo’s popular ‘Top Chef’ program as a part of the Infield Club experience during Kentucky Derby weekend,” said Churchill Downs Incorporated Chief Marketing Officer Dave Tompkins. “The show is highly entertaining and enjoys a tremendous fan following. We believe the inclusion of the Top Chef Tour in our newest hospitality area will give customers yet another reason to want to check out the Infield Club in 2009.”

The Top Chef Tour stop at the Kentucky Oaks and Derby will feature some of the show’s “chef’testants” hosting eight interactive shows – four each day – in the Infield Club, with limited reserved seating available. Cooking demonstrations, gourmet tips, show secrets and food tastings will be highlighted from the Top Chef Tour unit, a state-of-the-art customized traveling kitchen with expansive space to accommodate cooks and fans alike.  Top Chef: The Tour will also include trivia contests, information kiosks, and an opportunity for Infield Club guests to interact with the “chef’testants.”

The Top Chef interactive cooking demonstrations will take place on Oaks and Derby Days in the Infield Club at 11:15 a.m., 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. (times subject to change). Fans of the show can reserve a seat in the audience for one of that day’s demonstrations by completing a brief survey, while supplies last, at the Infield Club stage.  A limited number of surveys will be offered, based on the number of reserved seats available which will be assigned beginning with the earliest shows.  Infield Club guests who do not receive a reserved seating pass will be able to view demonstrations from outside of the reserved seating area or from a 50” plasma television in the Top Chef Tour activity area.

Churchill Downs has also released a rendering of the Infield Club and the Top Chef Tour location, available online at www.kentuckyderby.com/infieldclub.

Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN) also operates Trackside at Churchill Downs, which offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 2, 2009.  The track’s 2009 Spring Meet will take place from April 25 through July 5.  Churchill Downs is scheduled to host the Breeders’ Cup World Championships for a record seventh time on Nov. 5 and 6, 2010. Information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.churchilldowns.com.

http://www.churchilldowns.com/news/archives/churchill-downs-welcomes-top-chef-infield-club-2009-kentucky-derby-and-oaks

[marigold]

Top Chef Jamie Lauren is one of many Bay Area culinary stars featured in the new book Sexy Dishes



Video about the book click here: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/around_town/the_scene/From_Top_Chef_to_Front_Cover_Bay_Area.html

[marigold]

An interesting article: Tom's the man

Top Chef's Tom Colicchio Recalls Son's Premature Birth

This may be his most fulfilling recipe: Tuesday night Top Chef head judge Tom Colicchio will host a benefit for Children of Bellevue, a charity that assists and educates kids treated in the New York City hospital. But thanks to his personal connection to the hospital, the real celebration takes place later this month when Colicchio's son, Dante, turns 16.

"Sixteen years ago, my son was born eight weeks early," says Colicchio. "He was 2 lbs., 5 oz." The hospital where he was delivered had no more neo-natal ICU beds, so Dante was transferred to Bellevue, where he would spend the first two months of his life. Unable to ride in the ambulance with his newborn, Colicchio ran through the rain, still wearing scrubs from the birth.

"At first it was really bad, going to the hospital every day," says Colicchio. "We saw quintuplets there, and some of them didn't make it. The doctors worked so hard, and the care was great. But still you freak out."

As Dante grew stronger, the family prepared to take him home. A social worker asked Colicchio routine questions about whether they had adequate food and clothing for the baby. "We were kind of annoyed, and said, 'Yes, yes, we have insurance too.' A couple days went by and I started thinking, 'What if I had said no?' " wondered Colicchio.

He learned that through the private Children of Bellevue program that they could have received assistance for meeting the baby's needs. The group also works with long-term pediatric patients, health and parenting education. He asked how they raised funds and was told there was an annual cocktail party.

"I went to one and said, 'I think I can do this better,' " he says. No surprise that the owner of Mnahattan's Craft restaurants soon took over hosting duties and roped in 20 celebrity-chef pals to help provide the food. "Last year, we raised $350,000," he says.

As for Dante? The teen "is fine, no complications at all, he's doing very well." Tickets for the April 7 event are available at www.childrenofbellevue.org.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20270351,00.html

[marigold]

Padma poses nude in Allure Magazine:

The Naked Truth

ALLURE: What did you do to prepare for the shoot?
PADMA LAKSHMI: "I exercised a little bit extra, but I actually think I look better when I have a little bit of weight on—my breasts are fuller, and I'm curvier than when I'm at my thinnest."

ALLURE: Are you confident about your body?
PL: "Yes; I like the way I look. I think I look better now than I did in my 20s, because I'm more confident about my body—and I don't want to look like anyone but myself."

ALLURE: Do you sleep naked?
PL: "I tend to sleep in the nude. I'm an innately tactile person and a very sensual-leaning woman. You have to use the word 'leaning' or it sounds like I'm boasting! When I'm in my own private space, I do spend time with very little on."

Click to see several nude pic's http://www.allure.com/magazine/2009/05/nudes

[TexasLady]

We probably should add a warning that the site isn't exactly a work friendly site.