Top Chef Masters Episode 2 will air Wednesday night June 17th. Kelli Choi, the host, will set-up the quick-fire competition that was first introduced in the second season of "Top Chef". The challenge will be to make an amuse bouche made from ingredients found in a vending machine.
Amuse bouche is a French term that literally means mouth amuser. They are bite sized hors d'oeuvres that differ from an appetizer in that they are made at the whim of the chef and not something ordered off of the menu.
The chefs will then compete in the Elimination Challenge. They must make a meal that has been inspired by the hit TV show "Lost". They must make a meal where they use fish, wild boar, fresh fruit and other island specialties.
The contestants for this round of the battle are Wylie Dufresne, Suzanne Tracht, Graham Elliot Bowles and Elizabeth Falkner.
Wylie Dufresne is the chef/owner of New York’s highly celebrated wd~50 restaurant. The Lower East Side eatery was awarded a Michelin star in 2006, which it has retained through 2009. Dufresne himself is no stranger to acclaim. The James Beard Foundation nominated Wylie and wd~50 in the following categories: 2000, "Rising Star Chef" (while Wylie was the chef at 71 Clinton Fresh Food); 2004, wd~50 for "Best New Restaurant;" 2008 and 2009, Wylie for "Best Chef, New York City." wd~50, whose ownership is shared with chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and restaurateur Phil Suarez, acquired its unique name from the combination of Dufresne’s initials and the restaurant’s street address. Chef Dufresne will be playing for Autism Speaks.
Suzanne Tracht is the Executive Chef and Owner of two distinct California restaurants – Jar, a modern chophouse in the Los Angeles and Tracht’s, a retro Americana restaurant in Long Beach. Coming from Phoenix, Arizona, Tracht’s culinary journey began as a teen when she took a three-year apprenticeship under Siegbert Wendler, renowned chef at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa. She moved to Southern California to continue her education in the kitchen of Hotel Bel-Air and then served as sous-chef at Noa Noa. Her move to Campanile in 1992 placed her on the map, and she was soon named the restaurant’s Chef de Cuisine. Tracht launched her first solo venture in 1996 as Executive Chef at Jozu, a highly praised Cal-Asian restaurant that helped her develop a devoted following. She opened Jar in 2001and has been recognized nationally, including a spot among Food and Wine magazine’s Best New Chefs in 2002, national appearances on the Today Show, Food Network and Extra and induction into the Fine Dining Hall of Fame by Nation’s Restaurant News in May 2007. Her newest concept, Suzpree, a modern oyster bar and noodle house, is scheduled to open in Los Angeles in 2010. Her charity is JFS/SOVA Community Food and Resource Program.
Graham Elliot Bowles started his culinary education at Johnson and Wales University, and began his career by working at The Mansion on Turtle Creek, a five diamond/five-star property located in Dallas, Texas. Then he moved to Chicago where he had the opportunity to work at the famed restaurant Charlie Trotters for a total of three years, as well as work alongside Chefs Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand as the Chef de Cuisine of Tru. Then his work at The Jackson House Inn & Restaurant in Woodstock, Vermont earned him a spot as one of Food & Wine Magazine's Best New Chefs of 2004. This opened the doors for Bowles’to return to Chicago to become Chef de Cuisine of Avenues at The Peninsula Hotel. During his four years leading the kitchen, he became the nations youngest four-star chef with perfect reviews from Chicago Magazine, Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune, as well as three James Beard award nominations. Bowles has since gone on to open Graham Elliot in Chicago, a "bistronomic" restaurant combining four-star cuisine with humor and accessibility. He will be trying to win the $100,000 for the American Heart Association.
Elizabeth Falkner got her degree from the San Francisco Art Institute where she hoped to pursue a career in film. She changed her mind after she began working in the food industry. She started as a pastry chef at some of San Francisco’s most renowned restaurants including Masa’s, Elka and Rubicon which resulted in opening her own dessert restaurant. She used her cinematic inspiration to come up with Citizen Cake where they boasts “a cake for every citizen.” She is currently Executive Chef and Owner of both Citizen Cake and Orson restaurants in San Francisco. Falkner has been featured in numerous publications such as Food & Wine, Gourmet, Pastry Art & Design and W. She has received many awards for her work with pastries, including “Pastry Chef of the Year” from San Francisco magazine, a James Beard Award Pastry Chef nomination in 2005 and Bon Appetit Pastry Chef of the Year in 2006. She is play for The Edible Schoolyard.
Please leave a comment on who you think will win Top Chef Masters - Episode 2 and please come back to read the recap of the show.
Amuse bouche is a French term that literally means mouth amuser. They are bite sized hors d'oeuvres that differ from an appetizer in that they are made at the whim of the chef and not something ordered off of the menu.
The chefs will then compete in the Elimination Challenge. They must make a meal that has been inspired by the hit TV show "Lost". They must make a meal where they use fish, wild boar, fresh fruit and other island specialties.
The contestants for this round of the battle are Wylie Dufresne, Suzanne Tracht, Graham Elliot Bowles and Elizabeth Falkner.
Wylie Dufresne is the chef/owner of New York’s highly celebrated wd~50 restaurant. The Lower East Side eatery was awarded a Michelin star in 2006, which it has retained through 2009. Dufresne himself is no stranger to acclaim. The James Beard Foundation nominated Wylie and wd~50 in the following categories: 2000, "Rising Star Chef" (while Wylie was the chef at 71 Clinton Fresh Food); 2004, wd~50 for "Best New Restaurant;" 2008 and 2009, Wylie for "Best Chef, New York City." wd~50, whose ownership is shared with chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and restaurateur Phil Suarez, acquired its unique name from the combination of Dufresne’s initials and the restaurant’s street address. Chef Dufresne will be playing for Autism Speaks.
Suzanne Tracht is the Executive Chef and Owner of two distinct California restaurants – Jar, a modern chophouse in the Los Angeles and Tracht’s, a retro Americana restaurant in Long Beach. Coming from Phoenix, Arizona, Tracht’s culinary journey began as a teen when she took a three-year apprenticeship under Siegbert Wendler, renowned chef at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa. She moved to Southern California to continue her education in the kitchen of Hotel Bel-Air and then served as sous-chef at Noa Noa. Her move to Campanile in 1992 placed her on the map, and she was soon named the restaurant’s Chef de Cuisine. Tracht launched her first solo venture in 1996 as Executive Chef at Jozu, a highly praised Cal-Asian restaurant that helped her develop a devoted following. She opened Jar in 2001and has been recognized nationally, including a spot among Food and Wine magazine’s Best New Chefs in 2002, national appearances on the Today Show, Food Network and Extra and induction into the Fine Dining Hall of Fame by Nation’s Restaurant News in May 2007. Her newest concept, Suzpree, a modern oyster bar and noodle house, is scheduled to open in Los Angeles in 2010. Her charity is JFS/SOVA Community Food and Resource Program.
Graham Elliot Bowles started his culinary education at Johnson and Wales University, and began his career by working at The Mansion on Turtle Creek, a five diamond/five-star property located in Dallas, Texas. Then he moved to Chicago where he had the opportunity to work at the famed restaurant Charlie Trotters for a total of three years, as well as work alongside Chefs Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand as the Chef de Cuisine of Tru. Then his work at The Jackson House Inn & Restaurant in Woodstock, Vermont earned him a spot as one of Food & Wine Magazine's Best New Chefs of 2004. This opened the doors for Bowles’to return to Chicago to become Chef de Cuisine of Avenues at The Peninsula Hotel. During his four years leading the kitchen, he became the nations youngest four-star chef with perfect reviews from Chicago Magazine, Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune, as well as three James Beard award nominations. Bowles has since gone on to open Graham Elliot in Chicago, a "bistronomic" restaurant combining four-star cuisine with humor and accessibility. He will be trying to win the $100,000 for the American Heart Association.
Elizabeth Falkner got her degree from the San Francisco Art Institute where she hoped to pursue a career in film. She changed her mind after she began working in the food industry. She started as a pastry chef at some of San Francisco’s most renowned restaurants including Masa’s, Elka and Rubicon which resulted in opening her own dessert restaurant. She used her cinematic inspiration to come up with Citizen Cake where they boasts “a cake for every citizen.” She is currently Executive Chef and Owner of both Citizen Cake and Orson restaurants in San Francisco. Falkner has been featured in numerous publications such as Food & Wine, Gourmet, Pastry Art & Design and W. She has received many awards for her work with pastries, including “Pastry Chef of the Year” from San Francisco magazine, a James Beard Award Pastry Chef nomination in 2005 and Bon Appetit Pastry Chef of the Year in 2006. She is play for The Edible Schoolyard.
Please leave a comment on who you think will win Top Chef Masters - Episode 2 and please come back to read the recap of the show.
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