Category Archives: Food TV

“Top Chef” Wine and Whine

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I dunno about you, but this season’s “Top Chef” on Bravo TV has got to be one of the least engaging and exhilarating ones in the history of the show.

To be sure, it would be hard to beat the sheer excitement and mad skills of last season’s cast, which included the dueling Voltaggio brothers, Bryan and Michael, as well as the likable Kevin Gillespie and the kick-ass Jennifer Carroll.

This season? It’s not only been hard to keep the cast members straight in my head, but none of the food created has really proved memorable, either. What’s up with that?

Sigh. Guess I’ll just have to drown my sorrows in a glass of “Quickfire Chardonnay.”

Yes, indeed, there is a line of “Top Chef” wines, which also includes a Cabernet Sauvignon. But natch!

My bottle of 2008 Chardonnay was a gift from my friend, Barry, who is also a “Top Chef” fan. (Barry, if you’re reading, a big thank you!) He never misses a show. And I can count on a hilariously snarky comment in my email box the next day from him after a particularly “what was he/she thinking” moment on the show the night before.

You’re probably wondering: Just how good could a wine be that was created for a reality TV show, right?

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Mario Batali’s New Cookbook All About Veggies

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Yes, the man known for his love of pork and offal, has come out with a new cookbook that puts the spotlight on fresh, seasonal veggies.

“Molto Gusto” (Ecco) by Mario Batali is not a vegetarian cookbook per se. But the casual, easy dishes are all about using meat as an accent, while nudging vegetables to the forefront instead.

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Scenes From SF Chefs 2010

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Didn’t make it to the SF Chefs 2010 extravaganza this past weekend at Union Square in San Francisco?

No fear. Here’s a glimpse of the opening festivities last Friday night, which featured a slew of chefs, mixologists and vintners doling out gourmet goodies under a billowing white tent on the square.

The big guns were out in force, too, including New York Chef David Burke and star restaurateur, Drew Nieporent of the Myriad Restaurant Group.

The event officially got underway with a sabering ceremony, where a bottle of bubbly was dramatically opened by using a long knife to slice off the top of it.

You can tell from the expressions of the crowd that it was quite the sight.

A bevy of chefs were in attendance, including Mourad Lahlou of Aziza in San Francisco, whose first cooking show is expected to debut on PBS in the fall of 2011. Filmed in Marrakech and the Bay Area, the show will shine the spotlight on both traditional and modern Moroccan cooking. He’s still looking for help from investors, too. So if you’ve done well in the stock market or with the Lotto lately, don’t be shy and drop him a line.

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Rick Bayless, Alice Waters & More Chefs

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Rick Bayless to Visit Palo Alto

Meet Rick Bayless, Chicago chef extraordinaire, Mexican cuisine authority, and winner of the first season of “Top Chef Masters” on Bravo TV, in Palo Alto, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Aug. 16.

Bayless, who recently cooked for the first time for the First Family at the White House, will talk about his culinary philosophy and share a few of his delectable dishes from his new cookbook, “Fiesta at Rick’s” (W.W. Norton & Co.) at a reception at Reposado restaurant in downtown Palo Alto.

Tickets are $95 per person (which includes a copy of his cookbook) or $160 per couple (which includes one copy of the book).

Dinner with Alice Waters in Marin County

Join Alice Waters of Berkeley’s Chez Panisse in a conversation with Davia Nelson, NPR producer of “The Kitchen Sisters” and author of “Hidden Kitchens, Stories, Recipes and More From NPR’s Kitchen Sisters” (Rodale Books), 6 p.m. Aug. 7 at Toby’s Feed Barn, 11250 Highway One, Point Reyes Station.

Together, they’ll talk about how to create a “green kitchen,” which is the title of Waters’ new book, “In the Green Kitchen: Techniques to Learn by Heart” (Clarkson Potter).

A dinner buffet, created by Osteria Stellina, is included, which will feature pasture-raised goat braised in cinnamon and red wine; almond-wood grilled chicken; and berry and honey tarts.

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Take Five with Chef Dominique Crenn, on Her Upcoming “Iron Chef America” Battle

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Last year, Executive Chef Dominique Crenn of Luce in San Francisco, showed her chops by competing in the Food Network’s “The Next Iron Chef Competition.”

Now, the 45-year-old chef who used to square off regularly against the guys in soccer in her homeland of France, shows off her combative skills again, this time in Kitchen Stadium on Aug. 8 on “Iron Chef America” when she takes on Iron Chef Michael Symon.

She plans to feature her “Iron Chef” dishes on a special prix fixe menu at Luce, too, starting Aug. 10. The multi-course dinner will be $65 per person, and be available through Labor Day.

Crenn joins a small cadre of Bay Area chefs who have battled an Iron Chef: Ron Siegel of the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco; David Kinch of Manresa in Los Gatos, Traci Des Jardins of Jardiniere in San Francisco; Mourad Lahlou of Aziza in San Francisco; Charles Phan of the Slanted Door in San Francisco; Chris Cosentino of Incanto in San Francisco; and Nate Appleman (formerly at A16 in San Francisco and now at New York’s Pulino’s). By Crenn’s count, that makes her the eighth competitor from these parts, a most auspicious number for her, too.

Q: What’s up with the number eight?

A: In France, we celebrate the names of people on certain days. So, Aug. 8 is the day to celebrate St. Dominique in France.

Q: Hmm, so does that mean there was a good outcome for you in the battle because of that?

A: (laughs) You can’t read anything into that.

Q: The day you did the battle also marked the anniversary of your father’s death?

A: Yes, it was the 10th anniversary. The battle was for him. That day, I was sad, but focused. I wished he was there. But it also was a day to celebrate the person that he was. You have to celebrate that or else you just end up staying at home and crying your eyes out.

Q: Did you know Symon before doing the show?

A: I met him when I did ‘The Next Iron Chef.’ And I knew about him through friends in the industry. He has an incredible reputation. It was an honor to be in a battle with him.

We were putting makeup on, and sitting next to each other, just cracking up. He’s a wonderful man. But the gloves come off when it’s time to battle. It’s one hour of craziness.

Q: Of course, he has that unmistakable devilish laugh, too. Was that intimidating?

A: I love his laugh. I made a comment about it. You will see.

Q: I know you can’t say what the ‘secret ingredient’ is. But was it at least an ingredient that you liked?

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