Staff Blog
CP talks to Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio
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The Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation knows how to throw an event that does its job — and does it tastefully. Marc Vetri's Osteria turned into an indoor/outdoor circus of foodie stars — white tent and all — for yesterday's third annual Great Chefs Event benefiting the ALSF.
And while the evening found Daniel Stern of Gayle and Rae (nice braised halibut with black cherries and morel mushrooms), Vetri's Brad Spence (colechino pigs in a blanket) and Di Bruno's Emilio Mignucci (cool camembert brulée) at their finest, tons of admirers (Phil Roy, a few football players, the Electric Factory's Mr. and Mrs. Larry Magid and Mr. and Mrs. Adam Spivak) were there to see chef Tom Colicchio.
Colicchio's the chef/owner of Craft in NYC, Craftsteak in Las Vegas and 'wichcraft, which has multiple locations across the country. He's also a food consultant for private clubs around the world and the author of two books — Craft of Cooking and Think Like a Chef. But he's best-known for being the head judge of Bravo's Top Chef, which ended its fourth season last Wednesday.
Colicchio's a funny guy who doesn't mind a goof like me asking him about the "thuculent thavory pork" he was kosher-salting when I stopped by.
City Paper: What's the secret to what you're doing there?
Tom Colicchio: If I tell you, you won't buy the book. Nah, look, the secret is to do something correctly. Whether you're playing music or cooking, you have to know the techniques involved — get to the basics. And from there take liberties and experiment.
CP: This city is a world-class restaurant town. What do you know of its legend?
TC: I hate to say this, but with the exception of a Springsteen show that I was at three years ago, I haven't been here for awhile.
CP: What, Devils & Dust at the Tower?
TC: That one, yeah. But I know there're a lot of great things happening here. I'm not cognitive of everything and every place, but I know it's amazing. And Marc [Vetri] has a reputation that's known throughout the country. When he asked me to come to do this, it was no problem to say yes.
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CP: It's happening everywhere though, isn't it — the Foodification of America? Are you seeing that with Top Chef?
TC: It is. Every city has got a food scene. It's why we can't find cooks anymore in New York — they don't have to come there anymore. They can come to San Fran, San Diego, Chicago or Philly. There's great food everywhere.
CP: How do you feel about so many people equating you with Top Chef alone? Do you think that defines or raises the bar on what cooks have to do in "real life"?
TC: I don't think so. There are plenty of chefs who are great that aren't on TV. There are a lot of great chefs who don't do well on TV. Certain chefs do do well. I don't think you have to do TV. And there's a flip side to always being on TV.
CP: What — that everyone thinks that all you do is television and that you're you never around to cook at your Manhattan restaurant?
TC: Exactly. I'm there all the time. That said, the one thing I think is great about doing the show is that it opens up the window to what we do and what chefs go through. It, too, promotes good food to a whole new audience. I have kids now who tell me they're paying attention, they tell me they're cooking. There's going to be a whole new crazy generation of kids coming up and cooking because of TV, because of Bravo, because of the Food Network. At first, I thought there would be 10 people watching ... my family and my staff. But it's been great.
CP: What's next for the show?
TC: We're shooting in July. We have a town already chosen — can't say where. [Ed: Wiki has a hunch.] It'll always spread around. I don't think we'll ever have to repeat ourselves.
CP: Gotta ask the question — whose food have you liked so far?
TC: I like this guy over here's pigs in a blanket (Vetri's Brad Spence). And don't miss the tripe (Jonathan Benno from Per Se's Trippa Oreganata).
I didn't. Before the big afterparty at Zahav, I can rightfully say that Michael Solomonov's duck and foie gras kibbe ball with truffled labaneh and Bryan Sikora's (Talula's Table) shrimp 'n' chanterelles jawn were both sweeeeeeeeeeeeet. I'm going to have more on the Great Chefs Event — and Colicchio's answer to my question, "Did you know you'd be telegenic coming into this?" — in next week's Icepack.
