Top Chef with local connections
Bryan
All of you “Top Chef” fans out there have probably seen the season premiere already. If you have, you noticed something rather unusual: Two men are vying for the title this season who are brothers! Their names are Bryan and Michael Voltaggio
Bryan is Executive Chef/Partner at Volt, a restaurant in Frederick, MD.; Michael is Chef de Cuisine at The Dining Room, Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa in Los Angeles, CA. There’s already a nice brotherly rivalry bubbling between them, so it ought to be interesting to see how that plays out. Read more about them on their biographies on the Bravo Web site.
Michael
Why should you care specifically about these guys? Because Bryan Voltaggio sources some of his ingredients from our neck of the woods. He buys lamb from Border Springs Farm in Patrick Springs, Va. Farmer Craig Rogers is pretty excited that one of his buyers is on the popular Bravo television show. Rogers says Bryan Voltaggio also buys from EcoFriendly Foods in Moneta, Va. That wouldn’t surprise me since EcoFriendly supplies a lot of fancy, big city restaurants on the East Coast, particularly in New York. But Volt is not listed on their Web site.
A new episode of Top Chef airs tonight on Bravo at 10 p.m. If you’re watching, let me know what you think of the V-boys and the rest of the contestants. Oh, sorry, “cheftestants.”
Images from www.bravotv.com
August 26, 2009 - 12:24 PM
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You know I’ll be watching!
I’ll be watching too. The brothers seemed like they’re going to be okay. I just had a problem with one guy last week. The one who couldn’t believe a girl could keep up with him in the quickfire challenge. He also made a derogatory comment about another woman. This is 2009, get over the sexism already! Hopefully some talented women will take him out.
Yeah, Debbie, that guy’s going to be the token one who says outrageous things to get us all wound up and keep us tuning in
Basically, that means he probably won’t get kicked off until late in the game. These things seem to have a formula the more you watch them, don’t they?
Yep, they do. The producers have to keep the drama going. BTW I had to look up seitan last week, I’d never heard of it.
My mom asked me about the seitan. I ate it once and didn’t much care for it, but to be fair it was a basic version prepared in a college science class and it hadn’t been given the treatment of nice marinades and cooking styles that meat substitutes can get from knowledgable chefs. I could see where the texture would resemble meat. But my problem with that chick’s pepper was it was the size of her head!!
I loved Wolfgang Puck’s remark about her pepper. If you cooked that at home, people would never come to visit you. Ha
I put some Boca Crumbles in spaghetti sauce this evening and it was pretty tasty.
I know seitan is wheat gluten and not soy, but I am learning to like soy products. Fake meat is much better than it used to be.
I think I have a crush on Bryan Voltaggio. If I ever happen to interview him, that’s going to make it a bit awkward. Ha!
Seriously, though, after last night I’d say the V-boys are probably going to be in it for the long haul. There’s some serious talent between the two of them. Also, they don’t act like idiots.
I agree, they seem like good guys and great chefs. Some fierce sibling rivalry going on, but it was nice to see both win last night. I think Kevin and Jennifer will be there for a while too. For some bizarre reason, Kevin reminds me of a lumberjack. ha There’s just something outdoorsy about him. I like that he is also quiet but very talented.