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The Top Chef demo tent
Last week I went to check out the Top Chef Tour since it was in San Jose just a couple blocks from where I work. I gotta say Bravo did a pretty poor job promoting it. I only found out because I happened to catch a tweet a week before. It was held in the back of a strip mall and if you didn’t look for it you wouldn’t know it was there. There was no visible signage from the street. The event showcased cooking demos throughout the day and the one I attended was only half full. Maybe since it was the last leg of a 28 day tour they were too pooped to put much effort into it.
The 45 minute demo consisted of a quickfire challenge between Fabio Viviani from season 5 and Ryan Scott from Season 4 (on the left). Although the crowds were lacking the Italian stallion Fabio still put on a great performance. He was just like he appeared on TV, very outgoing and the life of the party. The ingredient they both had to use was wild Salmon. While they cooked they chatted about life on Top Chef as well as what they are doing now. At the end we got to eat and their dishes were judged by Chef Jim Stump of LG brewery, food blogger Carolyn Jung plus one person from the audience. Ryan won easily. All 3 judges chose him as the winner but I think being a local SF chef gave him an edge. I thought both guys had a little something going for them… I liked Ryan’s fish and Fabio’s topping.
They tasted better than they look...
All in all it was a fun way to spend my lunch hour and I’m glad there wasn’t a bunch of Fabio groupies to deal with!
Check out Ryan in the city at his food truck 3-SUM EATS and his new brunch spot Brunch Drunk Love.
Filed under: Northern CA, PLACES TO EAT/DRINK, San Jose, Silicon Valley (all cities) | Tagged: 2011, Fabio Viviani, quickfire challenge, Ryan Scott, san jose, Top Chef Tour |
Bay Area Foodie 
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