The secret’s out: Chicago’s food scene is hot. And it’s about to get hotter. When Season 4 of Bravo’s reality competition series “Top Chef” premieres Wednesday (9 p.m.), the rest of country will get a close-up look at our fare city. Not only was the show taped in Chicago, but the 16-member cast also includes two Chicago-based cheftestants, Valerie Bolon and Stephanie Izard. Add another with Chicago ties, Dale Talde, sprinkle in some prominent local guests — Rick Bayless (Frontera Grill, Topolobampo), Paul Kahan (Blackbird, Avec) and Art Smith (Table Fifty-Two), to name a few — and you’ve got a recipe for stardom.
Local flavor
Head judge Tom Colicchio and host Padma Lakshmi each spent time in Chicago during taping in the fall. Here’s what they had to say about our city.
“Depending on who you talk to, Chicago is always up there neck in neck with one of the best food towns in the country. I personally think it’s better than some of the other cities that seem to have that reputation, without mentioning them … uh, Northern California.”
— colicchio on Chicago’s place in the food world
“We hope that every new locale informs the competition … that’s one of the reasons we like to move it around. And Chicago’s a great food town.”
— lakshmi on bringing the show to Chicago
“One of the best meals I had … was at Cafe Lula … I had just an amazing, amazing brunch there.”
— colicchio on his most surprising meal in Chicago
“I found the people warm; I found the restaurants fantastic — everything from Alinea and Blackbird to Vermillion and on and on … I just loved it.”
— lakshmi on Chicago as a host city
Stephanie Izard, 31
Former chef-owner of Scylla
Stephanie Izard may not be well-known nationally, but Chicago foodies have loved her for years. After logging time at Vong, La Tache and Spring, she opened Scylla in Bucktown in 2005. The seafood-focused restaurant was lauded locally and even featured in Bon Appetit magazine last year — about a month before it closed. At the time, Izard told everyone she was going to do some “traveling”; she apparently had other plans. We got the real scoop on what she has been up to recently.
We heard that you moving to Hawaii or were going to travel. Was that just a cover story for “Top Chef”?
I actually did go and travel. I’ve been traveling for the past couple months. But I just sort of put that off for a little bit to do the “Top Chef” thing.
Did being from Chicago gave you an edge?
I don’t think so. The Whole Foods that we shopped at [on Halsted Street] is one that I’ve never actually been to, so I didn’t get an advantage there. Every day when we were traveling around everyone kept asking Valerie and I, “Where are we going? Where are we going?” — and we couldn’t even figure it out.
This show can alter the course of your career. Did that weigh on your mind while filming?
I didn’t want to … hurt my career by acting like a total idiot on television, but I also wanted to have a lot fun with it. I wore T-shirts that gave little shout-outs to my friends in Chicago. I tried to have a good time by not thinking too much about the fact that millions of people were going to be watching this.
Can you relate better to the past seasons after doing it yourself?
When you’re sitting home watching it, it doesn’t seem as hard as it is in reality. Watching the show I’m like, “Ew. I can’t believe that person just made that.” But now that I’ve gone through it I can see that there’s pressure and not everything might come out perfect.
Valerie Bolon, 32
Personal chef
In a season that’s all about Chicago, no one has deeper ties to the city than Valerie Bolon. Born and raised in Glenview, Bolon received her culinary training at Kendall College. After graduating, she did a stint at Emeril’s New Orleans but soon returned to Chicago to cook at the now-closed Gordon. She went on to MK, Spring and Hot Chocolate before starting work as a personal chef.
When Bravo casting directors approached Hot Chocolate chef-owner Mindy Segal last year, she told them to give Valerie a call. The rest is reality TV history. We caught up with Valerie to find out more about the application process and her strategy on the show.
Though the casting directors approached you, you still had to make an audition tape. What did you do?
My audition tape was rather silly … we filmed some clips of me around town showing some of the thingsI like to do and some of the places I like to hang out … kickboxing, traveling, my local bar — and cooking, of course. [I also took] a bit of a stab at Padma and Tom for some humor.
Is that why they chose you?
Honestly, I don’t know why I was chosen. I like to think it was partly because they felt I have a great balance between culinary talent and a very outgoing personality.
There are more contestants with Chicago ties this season than ever before. Did you know any of them before taping began?
Stephanie and I … worked together about seven years ago in a Chicago restaurant [Spring] and have been great friends ever since. [We were both surprised] to walk in the first day and see Dale [Talde], who is from Chicago originally [and also worked at Spring]. The three of us all worked together in that same restaurant all those years ago.
Head judge Tom Colicchio has said this is the deepest talent pool he’s seen on “Top Chef.” Were you nervous or intimidated?
Absolutely. I know for a fact that everyone was nervous. I think it’s impossible not to be simply because everything is so secretive and we never knew what we were going to have to do from one minute to the next. I think we all just had to channel that nervous energy in our food.
Did you have a strategy?
I had no strategy except to cook my tail off, to try not to screw anything up and not to humiliate myself on television. … Everything is so spontaneous that it’s difficult to plan anything; it’s all one big surprise to us … It’s so much more difficult than it looks.
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CATCHING UP WITH DALE LEVITSKI
He didn’t win it all, but Season 3 finalist Dale Levitski has been plenty busy since the show ended in October. He hopes to open his restaurant, Town & Country (525 W. Monroe St.), by September — with a little help from his “Top Chef” friends: Sara Nguyen and CJ Jacobson from Season 3 are moving to Chicago for sous chef positions.
In the meantime, Levitski’s waiting tables at Sola (3868 N. Lincoln Ave.) and bartending at Relax (1450 W. Chicago Ave.) on Tuesdays. He’ll also be blogging about this season of “Top Chef” on bravotv.com and outzonetv.com.
Izard’s favorite
Chicago spots
Arturo’s Tacos 2001 N. Western Ave. 773-772-4944
Avec 615 W. Randolph St. 312-377-2002
Blackbird 619 W. Randolph St. 312-715-0708
Green Zebra 1460 W. Chicago Ave. 312-243-7100
San Soo Gap San 5247 N. Western Ave. 773-334-1589
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Chris LaMorte is the Metromix dining producer; M. Kathleen Pratt is the Metromix print editor.
metromix@tribune.com
