Chicago represents on new season of 'Top Chef' | RedEye

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Originally posted: January 23, 2008
Chicago represents on new season of 'Top Chef'

Posted at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 23

Bravo introduced the contestants—make that chef-testants—who will compete on the Chicago-based next season of “Top Chef.”

Three of them either currently live in or call the Windy City their hometown:

Valerie Bolon (left) was born here. She is a personal chef in the city.

Dale Talde (center) also was born in the city, but works as a chef at Buddakan in New York.

Stephanie Izard (right) is originally from Stamford, Conn., and now lives in Chicago. She used to be a chef/owner of Scylla in Bucktown.

“Top Chef: Chicago,” the reality series’ fourth season, debuts at 9 p.m. March 12 with 16 chefs. Host Padma Lakshmi and judges Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons and Ted Allen all are returning.

The season was filmed in Chicago last summer and fall, according to Bravo and sightings at Green City Market and the Whole Foods Market on Halsted Street in Lakeview.

“This season the chefs bring a diverse wealth of talent and skill to the table that we’ve not seen before,” Colicchio said in a press release from Bravo. “The title ‘Top Chef’ has proven to be an amazing opportunity for these chefs to make a name for themselves in the competitive culinary world.”

Besides being call Top Chef, the winner will receive $100,000 in seed money to help open a restaurant, a feature in Food & Wine magazine, a showcase at the Annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen and a gourmet dream vacation in the French Alps, the release stated.

For more on “Top Chef: Chicago,” check out the Tribune’s The Stew blog here.

To read the chef-testants’ Bravo bios, keep reading below.

Stephanie Izard

Age: 31

Hometown: Stamford, Conn.; currently resides in Chicago

Culinary education: University of Michigan (undergrad); Scottsdale Culinary Institute

Favorite simple spring recipe: Anything with green garlic such as gnocchi with clams, white asparagus and green garlic

Until recently, Stephanie was the chef/owner of Scylla in Chicago. She is now enjoying traveling, both domestically and abroad, while planning her next exciting venture. Stephanie’s biggest lure in cooking is seafood because the same fish can be cooked so many different ways – grilled, poached, cured, pan roasted—and this brings out different attributes, flavors and textures. Stephanie says in her cooking, contrasting and complementary elements are essential, but balance is non-negotiable. She has always been very driven and a bit of a risk-taker. "Once I set my mind to something, I follow through. It always has to be 110%.”

Dale Talde

Age: 29

Hometown: Chicago

Profession: Sous Chef at Buddakan

Culinary education: Culinary Institute Of America

Favorite simple spring recipe: Grilled matsutake mushrooms, shaved myoga, spicy truffled ponzu

Dale, a sous chef at Buddakan, one of New York’s hottest restaurants, was born and raised in Chicago, where he helped open the renowned restaurant Jean Georges Vong. In Chicago, Dale worked with distinguished chefs like Carrie Nahabedian and Shawn Mcclain. With his Filipino background, Dale focuses on Asian flavors. “I love the balance that Asian cuisine offers the salty, sweet, bitter and sour and the textures it provides for different experiences in every bite.” One of Dale’s kitchen favorites is a dry aged kobe rib eye. Dale says cooking meats is one of his favorite things to do in the kitchen and the technique that goes into properly searing and basting a rack of lamb or steak shows a lot of love. A motto that drives Dale is “expect perfection, because if you fall short your left with greatness.”

Valerie Bolon

Age: 32

Hometown: Chicago

Profession: Personal chef

Culinary education: Culinary Arts, Kendall College, Chicago

Favorite simple spring recipe: Pork pot stickers

Born and raised in Chicago, Valerie has worked her way around popular Chicago restaurants for the past nine years and is currently working as a personal chef in her native city. Valerie has a passion for traveling and loves to incorporate influences from all over the world in her cooking. She believes food is the most universal part of life and enjoys cooking cuisine with elegance and simplicity.
in Chicago connection, Food and Drink, Reality, Television | Permalink

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Comments

so i just heard about this awesome dinner and reception with stephanie in chicago! personally i think steph deserves to win based on not only her food, but also her overall persona. just thought i'd share the details with anyone who is interested in meeting a top chef!
cheers.

The Drawing Room at Le Passage (937 N. Rush St.; 773-276-7582) engineered quite a coup by snagging Stephanie Izard of "Top Chef: Chicago" to conduct a plate-by-plate cook-off with Drawing Room chef Nick Lacasse on June 15. Izard has since reached the finals (and could win the whole thing on June 11), and the dinner sold out minutes after last Friday's announcement.

Demand has been so high, in fact, that the Drawing Room has added a VIP reception following the dinner, in which Izard will mix, mingle and dish -- and present a couple of specially designed cocktails.

The reception starts at 9 p.m., the cost is $40, and you probably shouldn't wait too long to pick up the phone.

Curt's reply: Thanks for the info Jef.

Posted by: Jef | Jun 9, 2008 2:14:45 PM

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