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The Chefs/Cheftestants of Top Chef


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19 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Thank you for sharing that.  I never knew that Leah came from so close to my home turf.  I lost my Dad in NYC to Coronavirus on April 5th - same thing, he died alone, only I was over 100 miles away in a different state.  He was this happy, optimistic half-Jewish 92 year old guy who never lost his sunny outlook on life.  My dad's story was very similar to her dad's.  The doctors thought he was getting better.  He fought the virus for a week before he took a sudden turn for the worse and died.  She was very fortunate to be able to have any kind of funeral.  My dad's ashes are still in a funeral home in the Bronx waiting for me to collect them, whenever that will be.  One day I will have a memorial gathering for him.  Like Leah's dad, he was loved by many people.  I hope she is able to reopen her restaurant to honor him.

((((((((love and hugs to you))))))))

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On 7/2/2020 at 9:05 PM, Vermicious Knid said:

So worth the read! I adore Gregory. I find him truly beautiful in every way. I wish he would write a book about his life and challenges with lots of recipes ... I know that "celebrity autobiographies" are de rigeur but I'd love to read his ... and speaking of cheftestants who wrote autobiographies ...  

20 hours ago, EmpressElle said:

I am so disappointed to hear this ... my birthday dinner a little while back at Kith and Kin was one of my favorite DC meals, and with our relocation to the other coast looming (though on hold because of covid), it was on my short list of places I really wanted to go back to to try a few other dishes ... 

His autobiography was a FANTASTIC read ... combination of his stories and his recipes. And I especially look forward to the film since one of my absolute favorite actors, LaKeith Stanfield, will be playing Kwame. 

I hope he finds what he's looking for and that I get to visit his new restaurant before we move. And I look forward to getting to eat at Gregory's new place down the line in Portland when we DO move and Mr. Snappy and I do some mini-vacays like retired people up and down the west coast ... Portland is very much on our list since the one time we did Vancouver-to-San-Francisco, our schedule only took us there for lunch. 

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19 hours ago, PamelaMaeSnap said:

So worth the read! I adore Gregory. I find him truly beautiful in every way. I wish he would write a book about his life and challenges with lots of recipes ... I know that "celebrity autobiographies" are de rigeur but I'd love to read his ... and speaking of cheftestants who wrote autobiographies ...  

I am so disappointed to hear this ... my birthday dinner a little while back at Kith and Kin was one of my favorite DC meals, and with our relocation to the other coast looming (though on hold because of covid), it was on my short list of places I really wanted to go back to to try a few other dishes ... 

His autobiography was a FANTASTIC read ... combination of his stories and his recipes. And I especially look forward to the film since one of my absolute favorite actors, LaKeith Stanfield, will be playing Kwame. 

I hope he finds what he's looking for and that I get to visit his new restaurant before we move. And I look forward to getting to eat at Gregory's new place down the line in Portland when we DO move and Mr. Snappy and I do some mini-vacays like retired people up and down the west coast ... Portland is very much on our list since the one time we did Vancouver-to-San-Francisco, our schedule only took us there for lunch. 

i’m sad to hear that too.  It was on my list of restaurants to try this summer.  i wanted to do a mini foodie tour.  I’d love to hear more about your experience there.

And I really want to go to Gregory’s restaurant whenever and wherever it opens.  

 

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(edited)

Just watched a "new to me" Beat Bobby Flay (2018) with Sheldon as the challenger! He was charming and did a great job of cooking. Bobby commented about how blindingly white his teeth are, LOL (which made me recall that on his TC season, Sheldon had a habit of grinding his jaw - I wonder if he's had work done to correct that and if it included tooth implants (total speculation on my part, based on no facts whatsoever).

Anyway, it was lovely to see Sheldon on my TV, I think the last time was on a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives episode?

His challenge dish to Flay was Filipino pork adobo. 

Spoiler

Flay won.

 

Edited by Ashforth
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Guy Fieri's new Takeout episode of DDD tonight featured celebrity chefs that have appeared as judges or contestants on his other game shows. Why am I mentioning this here? Antonia, Michael Voltaggio, and Marcus Samuelsson are on. The ingredients are shipped to them and Guy and his son cook the recipes with instructions and mocking from everyone on Zoom. Antonia was fried rice balls and empanadas. Voltaggio did fancy crab cakes in a crepe, and has a hot girlfriend who designs clothes? Marcus sent chicken and waffles with collard greens. The others were Christian Petroni of Fortina and Chef Maneet Chauhan. I actually wanted her food the most.

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Followed a link on that link to a wonderful chat with Gregory. He talked about how various cultures' cuisine are not trends (although they can be made to be by our culture), it's the cuisine of that culture! All of the time!

Meanwhile, he's delayed the opening of Kann until summer of 2021, hoping there will be a vaccine or that enough progress will have been made to make indoor dining safer. (And obviously, still profitable.)

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I just saw that on August 26, at 3pm EST, 15 minutes from right now, Melissa King will be on Top Chef's Instagram Live. I'm pretty sure you have to follow that account and then click on the circle on the top left to see it live, but hopefully, it will be saved by someone. If so, I'll post it here. I won't be able to watch to do it myself.

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1 hour ago, Christina said:

pretty sure you have to follow that account

You don’t have to follow them and they also saved it to the grid so everyone can watch it whenever.

Edited by biakbiak
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3 hours ago, jcbrown said:

Was Aaron the one with the domestic violence charges or was that someone else?

Yes, that was him.  (Well, one of them; Paul Qui was another.)

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I remember not liking him on the show but do not remember why.

He was a grossly arrogant jerk who got into a lot of arguments with his fellow cheftestants, which he tended to escalate. 

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18 hours ago, Bastet said:

Yes, that was him.  (Well, one of them; Paul Qui was another.)

He was a grossly arrogant jerk who got into a lot of arguments with his fellow cheftestants, which he tended to escalate. 

So I guess I did remember him.

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I'm watching S3 of Top Chef Masters on Peacock, and it's just heartbreaking, knowing that Floyd Cardoz died this summer from COVID.  One episode in particular hit hard--the chefs were tasked with making a meal for Maroon 5 in their tour bus, and Floyd talked about how it was good practice for him, because he and his wife planned to buy an RV and travel the country when they retired.  Now that won't happen, and I'm not even gonna lie, I cried just a little bit watching that.  😞  When he passed, everyone said how lovely a man he was, and that seems to be 100% true.

Edited by Lovecat
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12 hours ago, Lovecat said:

I'm watching S3 of Top Chef Masters on Peacock, and it's just heartbreaking, knowing that Floyd Cardoz died this summer from COVID.  One episode in particular hit hard--the chefs were tasked with making a meal for Maroon 5 in their tour bus, and Floyd talked about how it was good practice for him, because he and his wife planned to buy an RV and travel the country when they retired.  Now that won't happen, and I'm not even gonna lie, I cried just a little bit watching that.  😞  When he passed, everyone said how lovely a man he was, and that seems to be 100% true.

Oh man, I will make a mental note never to re-watch that season.  I was really gutted to hear about his death, especially when it happened so soon after my own father's death in NYC from Covid.  It seemed like every day we heard about yet another famous person dying of it back then.... 😪

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Sheldon Simeon has produced a cookbook available for pre-order now  and has posted several behind the scenes clips leading up to the release on his Instagram account. You do not have to have an IG account to see the posts.

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ABOUT COOK REAL HAWAI’I

The story of Hawaiian cooking, by a two-time Top Chef finalist and Fan Favorite, through 100 recipes that embody the beautiful cross-cultural exchange of the islands.

Even when he was winning accolades and adulation for his cooking, two-time Top Chef finalist Sheldon Simeon decided to drop what he thought he was supposed to cook as a chef. He dedicated himself instead to the local Hawai‘i food that feeds his ‘ohana—his family and neighbors. With uncomplicated, flavor-forward recipes, he shows us the many cultures that have come to create the cuisine of his beloved home: the native Hawaiian traditions, Japanese influences, Chinese cooking techniques, and dynamic Korean, Portuguese, and Filipino flavors that are closest to his heart.
 
Through stunning photography, poignant stories, and dishes like wok-fried poke, pork dumplings made with biscuit dough, crispy cauliflower katsu, and charred huli-huli chicken slicked with a sweet-savory butter glaze, Cook Real Hawai‘i will bring a true taste of the cookouts, homes, and iconic mom and pop shops of Hawai‘i into your kitchen.

Scheduled for release March 30, 2021 for $35.00

 

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1 hour ago, biakbiak said:

Brooke and her husband are leaving/selling their first restaurant named after their son Hudson. It’s the second place they have let go of due to COVID. The new owners are keeping the name.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIQ1WTQH9iQ/?igshid=13y3emzrsro8t

What a lovely post from Brooke. It's good insight into what people who open restaurants go through. Businesses always evolve, grow, or fail, but Covid-19 has decimated the restaurant industry - not only owners, but the many, many people who work as cooks and servers and bartenders and front of the house, as well as the thousands of unseen workers who harvest produce and work in meat factories (an industry that I won't judge here) and drive the trucks and bring food product and essential items like clean towels and aprons and paper goods and take-out containers.

I'm glad that they found a buyer who will strive to keep the restaurant open.

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Bruce will try again. But this time it's going to be a tiny place sandwiched between brewpubs downtown.

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On schedule for an early 2021 debut at the corner of Main Street and Imperial Avenue, former Top Chef contestant Bruce Kalman and Richard Camarota of McClain Camarota Hospitality plan a classic Texas-style barbecue restaurant for the Gateway District, serving a regional menu to the sounds of live music.

 I foresee this having a short life, if it even opens.

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Virtual event with Marcus Samuelsson

Sponsored by Cooks of Crocus Hill, called "Marcus Samuelsson visits your kitchen." It looks like a fun event. There's also an extra digital class where Marcus Samuelsson will walk you through the recipe and you do the cooking. He might cook, too, I'm not sure. He's also promoting his new book called The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food.

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Also Marcus Samuelsson. Produced by Guy Fieri, who is friends with all four chefs featured. I've seen them pop up on his shows but didn't realize they were close personal friends and not just part of the horde of people he knows. Like, they were all on the DDD celebrity chef takeout edition, and then after the doco there was a home version of Guy's Grocery Games that had three of these four, including Antonia. And she apparently also showed up on the most recent Bachelorette for the 'home town visit' because she's good friends with one of the finalists.

Doesn't seem like FN is rerunning Food Hustle again but may be On Demand if you missed it.

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Binge watching Top Chef Boston--Gregory, Melissa, Dougie and Mei.  I forgot how great these chefs were.  And I feel cheated that they were in PDX during the pandemic.  

I just ordered a box from Bullard for tomorrow, to get my Doug Adams fix.

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I just rewatched Spike’s season & realized he didn’t really win much and was less obnoxious than I remembered, but I still wasn’t wild about his personality. But! I love love Good Stuff & his company has been really good about helping deliver meals to homebound seniors during the pandemic. Tonight his pizza place delivered pizza to the Capitol & the National Guard sleeping there. Seems like I will just have to show my support & head to Good Stuff after the inauguration & get a sunny side. Oh darn!

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13 hours ago, jmcd44 said:

I just rewatched Spike’s season & realized he didn’t really win much and was less obnoxious than I remembered, but I still wasn’t wild about his personality. But! I love love Good Stuff & his company has been really good about helping deliver meals to homebound seniors during the pandemic. Tonight his pizza place delivered pizza to the Capitol & the National Guard sleeping there. Seems like I will just have to show my support & head to Good Stuff after the inauguration & get a sunny side. Oh darn!

The photos of the National Guard members sleeping on the floor of the Capitol so they will be there to protect us from our fellow citizens who can't accept elections results are heartbreaking. Thanks to Spike for feeding them!

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3 hours ago, marybennet said:

A piece by the brother of chef Fatima Ali about his plans to keep doing things she wanted to do.  It's lovely.  That's you crying, not...aw, hell, it's me.

https://www.bonappetit.com/story/chef-fatima-foundation

Yes, I'm crying too. I hope they reach out to Chef Jose Andres, I understand that they wouldn't want to have World Central Kitchen take over their foundation, but this seems right up his alley and could add a huge boost. 

I wish the Donate section for the foundation's website had donation amounts in US dollars as well as what I assume is Pakistani currency.

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On 1/25/2021 at 4:54 PM, Ashforth said:

I wish the Donate section for the foundation's website had donation amounts in US dollars as well as what I assume is Pakistani currency.

One US dollar is currently worth about 160 Pakistani rupees.  So if you selected the Rs 2500 donation, you'd be pledging right around $15.

Edited by Bastet
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I get email/newsletters/sale notifications from a bunch of small independent forges that make kitchen knives. It's mostly just me looking at pictures of beautiful, super expensive knives. 

A couple weeks ago I got one from Doghouse Forge that they're restocking their Sasto Shop, and that preorders will start being taken on 2/5.  Despite the fact that THIS PICTURE was on the email, I still didn't make the connection that it was referring to work Doghouse is doing with Joe Sasto.  

image.thumb.png.684fadb24611d58b4794400b7792ce28.png

The Sasto Shop is a series of pasta tools. 

They're very attractive. I think if I had to spend $90 on a pizza cutter, I'd probably have it hanging on the wall in the kitchen and call it art.

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Fast Foodies on TruTv has started. Starring Kristen Kish, Jeremy Ford, and Justin Sutherland in a low key competition to make different fast foods for celebrities the first round they are supposed to do a traditional take on it and the second a riff on the dish.

Edited by biakbiak
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On 2/12/2021 at 9:35 PM, biakbiak said:

 

Fast Foodies on TruTv has started. Starring Kristen Kish, Jeremy Ford, and Justin Sutherland in a low key competition to make different fast foods for celebrities the first round they are supposed to do a traditional take on it and the second a riff on the dish.

 

I just watched the first episode & am currently contemplating ordering Portillo’s shipped to my house. It’s sort of silly but I liked it. I don’t remember Jeremy being as... personable as I found him on this show. Maybe the less competitive environment or the chemistry with Kristen & Justin lets him chill a bit. Justin was of course very charming. 

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7 minutes ago, jmcd44 said:

chemistry with Kristen & Justin lets him chill a bit. Justin was of course very charming. 

I legit think anyone could have chemistry with Kristen! Justin is also awesome and the fact that they both like Jeremy and his food makes me like him more.

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