TV toques
Bravo milks the franchise again: Texas chefs Paul Qui and Tiffany Derry to cookat Top Chef Kitchen in New York
- Chef Tiffany Derry of Private Social will cook at the pop up-style Top ChefKitchen in New York.
- Austin celebrity chef and James Beard Award winner Paul Qui will cook the sameweek as Derry.Photo by Alicia Vega
To squeeze out every last drop of blood it can from the Top Chef franchise, Bravo Media has opened a branded restaurant, called Top Chef Kitchen, in collaboration with the operators of a new restaurant called Distilled NY.
According to a release from Bravo, the restaurant is a limited-edition, pop up-type restaurant that will open on Tuesday, October 16, for one month. Stalky fans can meet the cheftestants and eat the dishes they've watched prepared on the TV show.
As Bravo marketing VP Ellen Stone says so eloquently, "Fans can meet a range of our talented cheftestants and taste for themselves what it's like to participate in a Top Chef dinner that, until now, they've only seen on TV."
Top Chef Kitchen will feature unique menus created and executed on-site by Top Chef alumni and viewer favorites, including Top Chef: Texas winner Paul Qui and Dallas chef Tiffany Derry of Private Social.
Non-Texan chefs who are participating include Richard Blais, Jennifer Carroll, Tiffani Faison, Mike Isabella, Edward Lee, Antonia Lofaso, Grayson Schmitz and Fabio Viviani. The chefs will rotate as executive chefs throughout the run.
Diners can go to the Top Chef Kitchen website or Open Table to make a reservation, learn more about the restaurant, see chef schedules and review the menus.
According to the schedule, Edward Lee and Mike Isabella will be cooking the week of October 16-21. October 23-28 is the official Texas week, as Qui and Derry will cook in tandem that week. Each chef has a menu: Derry's begins with mascarpone ravioli, followed by trout, pork belly and banana pudding. Qui opens with soubise, followed by chicken wings, roasted chicken and buttermilk sorbet.
October 30-November 4 has a girl-power theme, with feisty chefs Tiffani Faison and Jennifer Carroll. November 6-11 is Richard Blais and Grayson Schmitz, and November 13-18 is Antonia Lofaso and super-dreamy Fabio Viviani.
Dinner will be served Tuesday through Sunday. Dining options include a four-course prix-fixe menu with or without wine pairings — but definitely without meeting the chef. The autograph-seekers will have to make a reservation at the chef's table, where they'll get an eight-course tasting menu with wine pairings and the chance to grope the chefs.