from Grub Street Philadelphia

Bravo has announced dates for “Top Chef: The Tour,” a 21-city marketing extravaganza where visitors “will have the opportunity to meet and greet with Top Chef talent, sample food tastings, receive gourmet cooking tips, hear Top Chef show “secrets,” [like these?] and get chef’testant autographs.” If you’re hoping for a glimpse of Tom, Gail or Padma and tiniest Top Chef Krishna, keep right on hoping, as there’s no mention of any specifics on host or judge appearances.

The tour kicks off April 14 in St. Louis. Specific locations, which will be at farmer’s markets, malls or food festivals, will be announced via the Tour website. No word on which cheftestants will be in which cities, but here’s more on what to expect via the Bravo press release, plus tour dates:

This year’s tour will feature an updated, restaurant-style format with table seating for 64 guests, bringing fans a fuller, more enjoyable culinary experience as they interact with their favorite chef’testants.

Fans and affiliates will also have the opportunity to participate in a variety of on-site “Top Chef” activities, including a Quickfire Challenge. Guests will compete for a chance to win prizes by testing their senses and food knowledge in a series of smell-tests as they attempt to identify the correct scent in the quickest amount of time. Attendees can also try for a hole-in-one on the “Top Chef”-themed putting green, purchase Bravo and “Top Chef” merchandise, and capture their “Top Chef” experience with a photo at the “Top Chef” judges table photo-opportunity. Fans will be able to access and download their photos at www.BravoTV.com.

Tour Dates:

St. Louis, Mo.                           April 14
Kansas City, Mo.                     April 16
Atlanta, Ga.                              April 18 & 20   
Charlotte, N.C.                          April 22           
Pittsburgh, Pa.                           April 24 & 25
Louisville, Ky.                           April 30 & May 1 (Kentucky Derby)
Grand Rapids, Mich.                  May 4
Chicago, Ill.                               May 6 & 7
Westfield, N.J.                          May 15
Philadelphia, Pa.                        May 17
White Plains, N.Y.                    May 19 & 20
New York, N.Y.                       May 22 & 23
Boston, Mass.                           May 25
Denver, Colo.                            May 30
Salt Lake City, Utah                  June 3
Seattle, Wash.                           June 6
Portland, Ore.                           June 9
San Francisco, Calif.                  June 12
Los Angeles, Calif.                    June 14 – 16
Irvine, Calif.                              June 17
Phoenix, Ariz.                           June 19

Top Chef, The Tour [Bravo]

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from Grub Street Philadelphia

Oink, Oink

Each week on the Food Chain, we ask a chef to describe a dish he or she recently enjoyed. The chef who prepared the dish responds and then picks his or her own memorable meal. On and on it goes. Last week, NYC chef April Bloomfield swooned over the perfectly balanced shredded beef tacos prepared by fellow New York chef Sue Torres at her restaurant Sueños. So what makes Torres’ tastebuds tingle?

Who: Sue Torres, chef at Sueños, New York
What: Charcuterie plate
Where: Osteria, Philadelphia
When: June 2009

“I was in Philadelphia for an event Marc Vetri has every year for Alex’s Lemonade Stand. It’s one of my favorite events because it’s not in New York, so I get to travel. Marc sets up all the chefs to eat at various local restaurants, but his restaurant was by far the best we ate at. It was just so inspiring to be around other great chefs, at a great restaurant. The charcuterie plate was the first thing that came out – there was a pasta course, and a game course, he really went to town.

But the charcuterie course reminded me a lot of my childhood, where my Italian grandparents would start the meal with meat. Marc took it to another level: there was a duck pate that was amazing, some handmade hot sausage, like a soppressata. It’s more than just the meat plate – it was also the bread and the olive oil and it was just this great, conversational, entertaining food where you can talk to the people that you’re with and just enjoy their company. It’s that passion all Italians have – you get the best quality product you can find and you put it on the plate. You cook for family, you cook for love, you cook for passion, and it comes through the moment the food hits your mouth. It’s like, “I’m home.” And that’s all there in the charcuterie plate.”

Marc Vetri, chef-owner of Osteria, breaks down the meat plate:

“Every year we have the Great Chefs event to benefit the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation and we bring all the chefs from around the country in one day earlier and we really lay it out for them at Osteria. Last year we hosted 20 chefs, but they all have sous chefs with them, so there were maybe 60 people and we had them in the garden room at Osteria . We started the meal off with this platter that consisted of different warm charcuterie. The one Sue was talking about, I think, was maybe this pork belly we did? We salt it for three days in a mix of sugar, fennel and salt, then we rinse off all of the salt and roast it in the oven. Then we slice it and on the pickup we sear it lightly over the wood coals. We serve it with an artichoke mostarda that we make at the restaurant also. It was the hit of the evening. We have it on the menu a couple of months out of the year – it will probably go on the menu in the next few months. We have so many ways that we make charcuterie – we have to just rotate them in all the time.”

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from Grub Street Philadelphia

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Dining Out for Life, an annual fundraiser where restaurants donate a third of their proceeds for one night to local AIDS service organizations. The event, which began in Philadelphia in 1991 and has spread throughout the country to 53 cities including Chicago, L.A. Boston and the San Francisco Bay Area, raises close to $4 million annually. To commemorate the big anniversary, the organization rounded up Iron Chef Jose Garces, Food Network host Ted Allen and… Jackie Brown star Pam Grier for a little dinner party-slash-public service announcement. If only we could hear what they were talking about when the cameras weren’t rolling!

This year’s Dining Out for Life takes place throughout the country on Thursday, April 29. In Philly, all Starr Restaurant Organization and Jose Garces’ restaurants are participating – a full list of all of the participating restaurants in Philadelphia is available here.

For information other cities, check the Dining Out for Life website.

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Filed Under: foodievents, actionaids, anniversaries, charity, dine out for life, jose garces, pam grier, ted allen, video

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from Grub Street Philadelphia

Bunwiper, King of Beers

Forget all the hubbub about baby barflies, one company brought the beer straight to the babies via the “Bunwiper,” a beer bottle-shaped baby bottle, complete with nipple. Anheuser-Busch, maker of the similarly named (but so far nipple-free!) Budweiser, was not amused and has sued the Bunwiper manufacturers for trademark infringement. [Smoking Gun]

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from Grub Street Philadelphia

A major study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine yesterday adds credence to the theory that higher costs for sugary beverages – like the kind that might be caused by a soda tax – are linked to measurable health improvements. This information is another arrow in the quiver of politicians in Philadelphia, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles who have all recently put forth proposals for soda taxes. And it should make Chicago, which already has a soda tax in place – or is it a pop tax? – feel very cutting-edge.

The study, which “followed 5,000 young adults for 20 years as they moved around the country and faced changing prices of soft drinks” found a “$1 increase in the cost of a two-liter bottle of soda – about 1.5 cents per ounce – translated to 124 fewer calories per day from all sources, 2.34 pounds lower body weight per year, and significant improvement in a measure of heart-disease risk.”

Philly’s two-cents-per-ounce tax is, so far, the highest tax proposed in the country; according to an Inquirer article, as of 2008, 64 percent of adults and 57 percent of children in the City of Brotherly Love were overweight or obese.

Study Links Soda Tax and Better Health [Philadelphia Inquirer]

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from Grub Street Philadelphia

A reading from the psalm of heritage breed pork

Here’s an explanation for irritating foodies we haven’t heard before, courtesy of a thoughtful essay in green-leaning blog Grist: Americans are “embracing food – or food activism – as their new religion” and are showing all of the telltale signs of those swept up in a religious conversion, including “zealotry, passion, conviction, and a touch of self-righteousness in many cases.” Don’t forget the annoying tweets!

Author Eric Burkett – who, as a professional chef, food writer and a Buddhist minister-in-training is more qualified than most to take this angle – cites several examples of people finding their God in their food. There are those in the thralls of a conversion experience thanks to Food, Inc. and The Omnivore’s Dilemma:

With the release of the Oscar-nominated documentary Food, Inc., I was astounded at the number of people who announced the film had changed their lives in an almost Pauline-road-to-Damascus kind of way… Food, Inc. and Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma have inspired a new religion that might be called born-again carnivorism, as exemplified by a post on Food Inc’s Facebook page from a woman excited by her discovery of a farm that raises organic chickens on actual pasture. And as with all religions, old and new, there are sects that insist on a very different path to salvation. The woman’s post elicited some strident replies from vegans, some as self-righteous as anti-abortion activists. Promoting organic meat is “like saying that its [sic] ok to keep slaves as long as they are feed [sic] well!” wrote one respondent. “How about raising your children to be compassionate, not just ‘organic’?”

There are those looking for miracles in what they consume:

How many among us are chasing after miracle foods, downing gallons of pomegranate juice, or wolfing down goji or açaí berries, convinced they’ll somehow give us health and happiness and, perhaps, make us sexier to boot?

And then there are those who feel the need to sanctimoniously make the world aware of how they are abiding by the commandments of healthy eating every time they eat something good for them:

I remember a smirking Twitter posting I saw months ago: “I’m having goji berries and green tea.” Had the poster been in reach, I might have given him a wedgie…just because.

Paired with Frank Bruni’s recent lament against restaurant snobs – and remember ‘foodiots‘? – it makes us wonder if there isn’t a bit of a backlash brewing against the food-obsessed. Although the Grist piece focuses more on the adherents of the locavore/organic food movement, the same conversion experiences and “miracles” also happen in the restaurant snob universe. Who hasn’t heard someone tell of a “meal that changed their life,” read about a dish described as “transcendental” or “sublime” by a restaurant critic, or read tweets proclaiming exactly what life-changing dish someone is eating at that moment?

Burkett ends the piece with some sage advice:

When we season our food with dogma and self-righteousness, we give it an unhealthy power over our ability to rationally consider its already vital place in our lives. If what you eat has become your religion, take care to serve up your message peacefully and palatably. Because it’s just food.

Eat Your Own Dogma: Food as America’s Newest Religion [Grist]

Related: Frank Bruni Calls Out Restaurant Snobs [Grub Street NY]
Are ‘Foodiots’ the New Foodies? (And Where Did They Come From, Anyway? [Grub Street NY]

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Filed Under: food for thought, foodiots, grist, religion, restaurant snobs, vegan

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from Grub Street Philadelphia

Exit 16

Debuting in mid-March: Exit 16 Wild Rice Double IPA, the fourth beer in Flying Fish Brewery’s Exit Series, a N.J. Turnpike-inspired line of big bottle brews. The beer, named for the marshy exit to the stadiums and Lincoln Tunnel, is a “tribute to one of the Meadowlands’ indigenous food sources: wild rice.” The beer was brewed with 1,200 pounds of rice varietals, five types of hops, and an unknown quantity of Jimmy Hoffa.

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from Grub Street Philadelphia

Papa John’s pie

Hot on the heels of Papa John’s heart-shaped pizza promotion, competitor Domino’s announced it will also offer a heart-shaped pie for Valentine’s Day… in Japan. [Reuters]

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from Grub Street Philadelphia

Do you and a partner have “no restaurant experience, a ton of restaurant experience, or some combination of the two?” All you need are two heartbeats and the desire to compete to attend the upcoming open calls in Philly, Boston and New York for a new Food Network competition show, which may or may not be called 24 Hour Restaurant Battle, where teams have “just 24 hours to conquer a concept, décor, and of course the food to turn a blank space into the restaurant of their dreams. Once the doors are open, actual diners will be served and a panel of restaurant experts will judge to see which team showed the most potential for running a successful restaurant.” Winner gets seed money for a project. Interested? Read through for details.

Open call dates and times:

• Philadelphia: Friday, February 5, 10am – 3pm; Loews Hotel, 1200 Market St.
• Boston: Monday, February 8, 10am – 3pm; The Lenox Back Bay Boston, 61 Exeter St.
• New York: Friday, February 12, 10am – 3pm; Professor Thom’s, 219 2nd Ave.

Visit the website to download the application.

Have you always dreamed of running your own restaurant? Does your wife, husband, brother, sister, mother, partner or friend share that dream?

Do you make restaurant quality meals at home and want to show that you can take it to the next level? Are you a pro in the kitchen while your teammate is a star in the front of the house?

If so, keep reading for your chance to prove you have what it takes to run a restaurant AND the potential to win a case prize!!

WHERE WE’LL BE:

We will be holding open calls in Philadelphia, Boston, New York and Washington D.C. Check out our “Open Call Information” page for detailed information.

WHO SHOULD APPLY:

Two person teams with pre-existing relationships: Husband & wife, ex-husband & wife, father & daughter, mother & son, newlyweds, brothers, sisters, twins, cousins, best friends, etc.

The Skills to Run a Restaurant: Applicants may have no restaurant experience, a ton of restaurant experience, or some combination of the two. One member of the team will be the chef and run the kitchen and the other will run the “front of the house,” so all we ask is that you have the skills to, as a team, actually run a restaurant.

Personality that Pops: Are you and your teammate charismatic and outgoing? We’re looking for lots of energy and charm!

*Please don’t apply if you already own your own restaurant or have previously owned a restaurant.

* If you have any questions, please contact us as casting24battle@gmail.com
* Applicants must (a) be a US citizen or permanent legal resident with the unrestricted ability to work in the U.S. and (b) be at least 18 years of age.
* If you plan to attend an open call, you MUST download two applications (one for you, one for your partner) and bring both COMPLETED applications to the open call. You must also bring recent photos of both of you!

24 Hour Restaurant Battle [Official Site]

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from Grub Street Philadelphia

Jeffrey Brown, the owner of 10 Philly and New Jersey ShopRite supermarkets, will sit with Michelle Obama at tonight’s State of the Union address. Brown has been working with the White House to expand the Fresh Food Funds Initiative, a P.A.-based “public-private partnership… that provides grants and loans for grocery-store development in areas where markets are needed.” [Philly Gossip]

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from Grub Street Philadelphia

Now that we have an Iron Chef and nearly had a Top Chef, maybe it’s time for a Philly chef to rep the U.S. in the Bocuse d’Or culinary competition? We checked in with Jim Burke, executive chef-owner of James, who was a last-minute replacement for Top Chef’s Kevin Gillespie, to find out how the switcheroo happened, how he’s preparing for the first round of the competition, which takes place February 6, and which chefs present the biggest challenge.

How did you end up in the competition? Did you know you were replacing Kevin Gillespie?
It was actually very last minute for me. I received a phone call two days before Thanksgiving from the Bocuse USA Foundation. It was a reminder that the next day was the deadline for applications — they had extended the deadline. But I hadn’t received the application and didn’t know what she was talking about — [wife] Kristina had our son over the summer, so I took time off and I wasn’t at the restaurant so I guess it got lost in the shuffle.

She said I could still download the application and get it to them by the next day. I figured it would take a few hours, but I needed a notary, two letters of recommendation from other chefs and restaurateurs — it was a lot more involved than I originally thought. I ran around and got it out to them and then I didn’t hear anything for a few weeks ῗ we were in the middle of holiday season so I turned my attention to running the restaurant. I didn’t go on website or check in or see who was selected, then I got a message the week of Christmas saying that someone had dropped out. The next day they chose me to compete.

If you won, how would you handle running your own restaurant while training and the expenses? Gavin Kaysen said he spent $250,000 on the competition in 2007.
I’m the only chef-owner on the list. This isn’t Charlie Trotter’s or Daniel where I can just stop doing my everyday work and practice at the restaurant’s expense day in and day out for the competition. As a small restaurant owner that’s not a possible – I still have to make menu changes and manage my staff. I’m under the impression that after the U.S. Finals, any travel costs or costs of ingredients or equipment, things of that nature, will be taken care of by the Bocuse d’Or USA Foundation for the Lyon competition. I know the cost and time commitment are significant, but they are kind of vague of what it will entail. They allude to it and say you must be available any time throughout the next year to travel and practice. I know that it’s very significant.

How much have you spent so far?
Up until now we’ve spent a good amount of money. There is a significant fee to participate. There’s a $3,000 competition fee. There are cash prizes for the top three in the U.S. finals. You do win some money. Obviously, the Lyon competition has a significant cash prize.

You have to make two protein dishes for the U.S. Finals. Can you pick whatever protein you want? Are there other parameters than that?
It’s lamb and salmon. They give you a saddle of lamb, a leg of lamb, lamb kidneys and lamb sweetbreads. Then they give you a whole salmon. They don’t say that you have to use every part – I’m sure you could not use them – but it probably makes you look bad. That’s a big part of being a good cook – utilizing every part of the product. Each protein needs three garnishes, they’re really three little sides dishes. So it’s actually eight dishes. and you need to prepare twelve portions of each.

Can you tell us what you’re making?
I’m going to refrain from revealing any specifics. I definitely don’t want other people to know what we’re doing. But given the last minute aspect of this for us – we’re still tweaking our dishes and I’m sure we will be right up until the day of. We’re being very ambitious – we’re not taking it easy at all.

How are you preparing? Are you working on your knife skills or practicing sauteing things at random?
You absolutely have to do that. I’m trying to get my hands dirty and get back the speed I once had. I don’t cook on the line as much as I used to – I’m only a working the line a couple of days a week – you need to really refine those skills again. It seems the ideal candidate for this would be a sous chef at one of these high profile kitchens. They’re the ones that run these kitchens and work the line – they’re at the top of the game as far as line cooking goes.

We went out and got a few salmon and I went at ‘em. You really do have to be conscientious – we have to practice things so that they come out right and we have our portions perfect. But you also have to do it really quickly. We’re timing ourselves and we have to figure out things here and there that can cut a few minutes off of the prep time.

Any timed cooking event goes a lot faster than you think it will, but for something like this, with people like Thomas Keller and Daniel Boulud watching you cook – it’s a little bit overwhelming.

Do you know any of the other contestants? Who do you think is your biggest competition?
I don’t know any of them. There are a few sous chefs – a sous chef at Trotter, the Modern, Eleven Madison Park, the guy who’s running a restaurant in Vermont is a former Daniel sous chef – I know for a fact that those four are going to be really strong. They’ve had a little more time to prepare and more resources. I know those four platters are going to be very impressive. It’s going to be an enormous challenge. Those four are going to be really tough to beat.

It sounds like you’re a little big of an underdog in true Philly style?
Yes! We were a replacement, we’re entering late and I’m the only chef-owner. I definitely think we have underdog status. I don’t mind it – I kind of like it actually! But hopefully, we’ll have a little more success than most of our local sports teams.

Earlier: Kevin Gillespie of Top Chef Out of Bocuse D’Or Running

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from Grub Street Philadelphia

The Situation

If DIY Ron-Ron Juice isn’t for you, then fist-pump this: PA-based regional brewpub chain Iron Hill Brewery has named a beer in honor of esteemed Jersey Shore cast member, Mike “The Situation.” Head brewer Chris LaPierre says the beer’s style defies categorization, much like “The Situation” himself. It hits the Maple Shade, NJ location on February 20. [Iron Hill]

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