3 of the next Top Chefs are From Atlanta Restaurants!
Atlanta is an exciting place to open a Restaurant!
We are on par with New York, LA
and many other World Class Cities
when it comes to restaurants.
Atlanta is proud to announce that
Three local Favorites are going to be on Top Chef
as noted by this article in the AJC!
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
Unless, of course, it involves a delicious three-course meal prepared over the course of one frantic hour.
“Top Chef” — the Bravo reality show that puts chefs through amusing paces and tests of culinary prowess — announced Wednesday that the upcoming season will take place in Las Vegas. Not only that, but the Atlanta culinary world is well represented in the cast.
Of the 17 ” ‘chef’testants,” three helm the kitchens at well-regarded Atlanta restaurants. Kevin Gillespie, 26, is chef and partner at Woodfire Grill on Cheshire Bridge Road. Eli Kirshtein, 25, runs Eno Restaurant and Wine Bar in Midtown. Hector Santiago, 40, is the chef-owner of Pura Vida Tapas and Bar in Poncey-Highland.
Santiago is the most established. Atlanta Journal-Constitution dining critic Meridith Ford Goldman chose Pura Vida as restaurant of the year in 2005. Santiago describes his cooking as “cocina de autor,” a term the Spanish use for a style that emphasizes personality and creativity.
Gillespie took over the kitchen at Woodfire Grill last year from its founder, Michael Touhy. Gillespie calls his cooking “simple and ingredient- driven, but also a little surprising.”
Kirshtein might have the best chance. Before taking over the kitchen at Eno, he was an aide to Richard Blais, the Atlanta chef who made it to the finals in Season 4. He calls his cooking “techno-organic.” Hardy Wallace, publisher of the Dirty South Wine blog, says Kirshtein “produces some of the best food I’ve had in Atlanta.”
“Top Chef: Las Vegas” will premiere at 9 p.m. Aug. 26.
Copyright 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Congratulations Kevin, Hector and Eli!
We wish you well, and we will be watching!
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