Top Chef Stop

Has San Antonio finally made its mark on the culinary map? Well if not, it at least made its mark on the Top Chef Tour this time around. Former cheftestants Ryan Scott and Dale Talde where in town June 11 to show off their skills and treat fans to a few "Quick Fire" demonstrations.

I had pretty much bailed on the idea of attending because I figured the first-come-first-served atmosphere would be a total mess and not worth the bother. But on a whim I changed my mind and started waiting in line at 7:50 a.m. (along with a few diehard fans who had been there since 4 a.m.) to secure a spot during the 10:30 demonstration. In the end it was worth the wait, crowds and heat. Both chefs were extremely personable, entertaining and very gracious. I was even lucky enough to be one of just a handful to be spontaneously invited inside the Top Chef mobile kitchen for quick look around while they cooked.

During the cooking challenge both chefs were required to use beef as their main ingredient but had 10 other ingredients from which to choose and use. Dale's dish was an Asian-inspired Beef Salad (left) and Ryan made his take on Steak Au Poivre with a melon salsa verde.  I really enjoyed both. But I favored Dale's more for the it's unusual flavor and  subtly with the coconut. While Ryan's had a lot of the heat that Texans are used to in their dishes, plus the watermelon salsa was a nice chilly accent. I'll link to the recipes as soon as they are posted to Bravo's website.

2 comments:

  1. This sounds like a fun adventure, peppered with some good luck.

    Your blog is awesome -- the pictures, writing, everything. Keep going with it.

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  2. Thanks! I was a fun time for me and all the other foodies.

    ReplyDelete