| THE SCOUT 03.04.09 9:00 AM |
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Cooking Classes With a Top Chef Alumnus
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 | Top Chef competitor and cooking instructor Carla Hall
Photo: Matthew Lyons |
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Carla Hall of Silver Spring-based Alchemy Caterers may have lost the title of Top Chef on the Bravo TV series' cooking competition, but she is now back in the kitchen, this time conducting private, group classes. The day or evening sessions are held in the culinary studios of CulinAerie cooking school near Logan Circle. A typical, three-hour course begins with a 45-minute lecture, followed by a hands-on replication of a three-course menu (appetizer, entrée, dessert) and ends with students and their instructor dining and discussing their work. The cost is $95 per person (with a minimum group size of 12 and maximum 32) and includes food, wine, and instruction.
—Walter Nicholls
RELATED TOPICS
Top Chef, Bravo |
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| THE SCOUT 12.22.08 7:00 AM |
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How to Recreate a Reality Show for a Group
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 | The Top Chef-inspired teambuilding event
Photo: Courtesy of Smartt Entertainment Inc. |
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Reality television hasn't fizzled out yet, and many competition-based shows have maintained—and expanded on—a dedicated following. San Diego-based Smartt Entertainment Inc. recently introduced two packages that draw from the success of these shows, and they're available worldwide.
The "Dancing Under the Stars" package can bring in judges, professional dancers, celebrities, and contestants from So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing With the Stars to perform in a variety of styles, from waltz to hip hop. Smartt Entertainment can customize the program's length and choose the performers to fit big and small budgets. They'll also bring in world-champion dancers to complement TV contestants. Rates vary and generally start around $10,000. Programs could be presented purely as entertainment or become a bit more interactive by involving key executives in the dances, for example.
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RELATED TOPICS
So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing With the Stars, Bravo, Top Chef |
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| BEST OF 2008 11.24.08 8:00 AM |
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Scripting Reality
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In television, like fashion, you’re either in or you’re out, and staying relevant in the still-evolving medium is not as easy as it once was. Internal marketers need to approach their existing and potential audiences from every direction, and for Bravo director of digital marketing and events Valerie Brown, that task hinges on creating signature moments to herald the premieres of new and existing series.
First in a Series: Brown joined the network in 2004, on the eve of an extensive rebranding initiative. That effort included the launch of Project Runway, the first series she worked on closely, collaborating with producers Magical Elves and IMG Fashion to run the front of the house for the contestants’ Bryant Park fashion shows. In the four years since, Bravo has grown each year, posting record ratings in 2007 and then again in the second quarter of 2008.
Expanding Lineup: Brown became team director in 2006, working with Bravo senior vice president of marketing Ellen Stone. She recently produced a competition to find a new cast member for gym reality show Work Out, a dating advice seminar with the star of The Millionaire Matchmaker, and dance classes at Crunch gyms nationwide to promote Step It Up and Dance. “As you grow, budgets become more accessible, but at the same time, you have to maintain profitability,” says Brown. “We pick anchor events to invest in and to put on a large platform. When you have the breadth of programming we have, you have to make strategic decisions.”
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RELATED TOPICS
Bravo, Project Runway, Work Out, Millionaire Matchmaker, Step It Up and Dance, Shear Genius, Top Chef |
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| NEWS 07.16.08 8:00 AM |
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Good Stuff Eatery Opening Brings Top Chef Contestants to Washington
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 | The opening crowd for Spike Mendelsohn's Good Stuff Eatery
Photo: Joe Shymanski |
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Top Chef contestant Spike Mendelsohn had a little help from his fellow cast members last night for the official opening of his burger and shake joint, Good Stuff Eatery (which we told you about here). Out of the 220 people that came, chefs Antonia Lofaso, Andrew D’Ambrosi, and Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard were on hand along with D.C.'s own celebrity chef José Andrés (who appeared as a judge on an episode of the show).
At the two-story restaurant, which opened to the public on July 7, the swarm of curious guests filled out the 80-seat interior and overflowed to the 50-seat outdoor dining area. The talk of the night: the samplings on hand, which included toasted marshmallow shakes, mini colletti smokehouse burgers, and fries with chipotle, old bay, mango, and sriracha dipping sauces. —Danielle O'Steen
RELATED TOPICS
Top Chef, José Andrés |
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| GUEST QUESTIONS 06.30.08 5:14 PM |
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Rammy Revelers on Their Favorite Haunts, Industry Gossip, and a Cooler Venue
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 | The Rammy Restaurant Awards at the Marriott Wardman Park
Photo: The Photographers Gallery |
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The Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington held its 26th annual Rammy award show at the Marriott Wardman Park last night. The black-tie event brought most of the city's chefs and foodies—1,600, to be exact—under one roof. After the ceremony (and a few cocktails), we asked guests about the new restaurants they love, D.C. chefs, and their favorite nominees.
"I love [this event]. I never actually knew something like this happened in D.C. I didn't know the city had such a good foodie culture, and it's pretty amazing to see.”
—Spike Mendelsohn, contestant on Top Chef and owner of soon-to-open Good Stuff Eatery
"Oh, boy. I have to say my favorite that's opened recently is Proof. Another restaurant that I really like is Rasika. [This year's event] actually seems a little more organized and a little more elegant [than in years past].
—Jamie Leeds, co-owner, Hank’s Oyster Bar (winner of 2008's Neighborhood Gathering Place of the Year) and soon-to-open CommonWealth
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RELATED TOPICS
Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, Rammy awards, Top Chef |
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| NEWS 06.16.08 4:18 PM |
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Washington's José Andrés Scores Best Chef Nod at Bravo's A-List Awards
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 | Chef José Andrés, Kathy Griffin, and chef Tom Colicchio at the Bravo A-List Awards
Photo: Courtesy of NBC Universal |
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Chef José Andrés, of D.C.'s Café Atlantico, Jaleo, Oyamel, minibar, and Zaytinya, did not pick up a James Beard Foundation award last week, after scoring a nomination as Outstanding Chef. He did, however, win the A-List Chef title at the taping of Bravo's new A-List Awards at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom last Wednesday.
Hosted by comedienne Kathy Griffin, the show, which aired Thursday at 10 p.m., mixed food (New York's Bar Boulud nabbed the A-List Restaurant award) and fashion (Anna Sui won A-List Fashion), with the inevitable reality TV shout-out (MTV's Tila Tequila took home A-List Drama Queen).
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RELATED TOPICS
José Andrés, Bravo, Top Chef |
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| VENUE NEWS 05.30.08 1:31 PM |
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Spike Mendelsohn's Off Top Chef, Ready to Open Capitol Hill Joint
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 | Top Chef contestant Spike Mendelsohn in the Mai House kitchen
Photo: Joe Shymanski |
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The jig was up a bit early for Top Chef contestant Spike Mendelsohn, at least for those watching the D.C. blogs. Word leaked last month that the former Mai House chef de cuisine planned to open comfort food-focused Good Stuff Eatery on Capitol Hill, leaving fans wondering: When would the fedora-wearing chef be booted off?
With his exit from the show this week, Mendelsohn is working towards a June 16 opening for the eatery, which will focus on burgers, hand-cut fries, and milkshakes, with an emphasis on local ingredients. That may seem all-American for the Vietnamese-trained chef, but he told Washingtonian's Best Bites blog that one burger topped with habañero aïoli and pickled daikon is representing those Asian flavors.
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RELATED TOPICS
Spike Mendelsohn, Top Chef |
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| EVENT REPORT 03.31.08 10:00 AM |
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Common Threads Festival Lures Celebrity Chefs
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 | Chef stations featured elegant food presentations.
Photo: Lee Hoagland |
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FROM CHICAGO
Chef Art Smith has friends in high (or highly gourmet) places. This much was evident at the third annual Common Threads' World Festival, held on March 17 at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Attended by food-world celebrities ranging from Padma Lakshmi to Rocco DiSpirito and Paula Deen, the fund-raiser produced some culinary star power.
Founded by Smith four years ago, Common Threads educates underprivileged children about nutrition and international cuisine. The charity’s chef advisory board is made up of names from respected—and ethnically diverse—Chicago restaurants. Once a week, a chef from the board leads an in-classroom cooking demo for children 8 to 12 years old.
When creating a concept for Common Threads’ annual fund-raiser, “We tried to mimic what we do in the classroom by creating this world festival walk-around,” said Common Threads executive director Linda Novick O’Keefe. To that end, she employed staggered food stations. “Each chef is asked to represent a different country through food,” she explained. For its first two years, Common Threads' World Festival was held at the Chicago Cultural Center; this year, it was held at the M.C.A.
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RELATED TOPICS
Common Threads, Top Chef, John Legend |
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