Posts Tagged ‘Padma Lakshmi’

Wednesday evening, the Bravo network debuted the premiere episode of “Top Chef’s” first all-star season, featuring eighteen chefs from the past 7 seasons. Two of these chefs hail from the New England area. Angelo Sosa, chef and owner of Xie Xie in New York City, is originally from Cheshire, Connecticut, and is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in New York City. Angelo competed in season 7 and made it to the top 3.

Chef Tiffani Faison, a finalist from the very first season, also happens to be a resident chef at restaurant Rocca in Boston’s South End. In honor of her debut as an all-star, Rocca held a viewing party at the bar, displaying the show on big screens, and serving Bud Light Lime, the chef’s favorite beer.

In the first episode, Tiffani, who was the first chef to be introduced, remarked, “I love competition–I’m gonna cook my nuts off.”

Host Padma Lakshmi addressed all the contestants before their elimination challenge, saying “You all are considered to be some of the best, but none of you took home the prize. To beat all the chefs in this room would be an extraordinary feat.”

All of the contestants were then presented with the ingredients from the last dish they cooked before being eliminated in their respective season, and asked to make the dish that caused their defeat, but this time, to make it a winner. Both Tiffani and Angelo successfully avoided the bottom 3, and moved on to the next round.

Rocca will be hosting viewing parties each week that Tiffani appears, promising “globally inspired bar noshes that go well with Bud Light Lime.”