Saturday means "hangover," bitches!

In preparation for the October 4 premiere of The Next Iron Chef, we’ve been chatting with the show’s handful of NYC hopefuls. Last week we kicked things off with the no-nonsense Nate Appleman. This week we’re on the horn with Amanda Freitag—chef at The Harrison and regular Chopped judge—about her bid to join the ranks of Batali and Flay.

The Feed: How do you think your cooking style fits into the Iron Chef repertoire?
Amanda Freitag: My cooking style isn’t exactly hardcore Iron Chef material, but I think that I have a well-rounded global experience. I’m pretty adaptable to any situation, and my determination and my personality are perfect for the show.

What did you think of the other NYC competitors?
I had very little prior relationship with the other competitors.… I’d met Brad Farmerie and Seamus [Mullen] at events and eaten at their restaurants. I hadn’t met Jehangir [Mehta]. For me, I just felt like, Go, New York! Read more »

Runner-up Zappoli and his grandmother, who loves his zeppole.

Well, dear reader, we lied to you. We thought workaholic Ted Allen was taking a break this week, but the man and his crack team over at Chopped! are apparently in this one for the long haul. Last night’s episode, “Pods, Grills and Sticky Fingers,” included chefs Maristella Innocenti of Matilda restaurant; Joe Bayley, sous chef at Cobblestone Foods in Brooklyn; Matthew Zappoli of Tre Amici in Long Branch, New Jersey; and Moha Orchid, an NYC-based private chef who claims to have invented couscous sushi (”Instead of rice, it’s couscous!”). Judges this time around were “illustrious restaurateur” (Ted’s words, not ours) Geoffrey Zakarian, Amanda Freitag and Scott Conant. Read more »

The James Beard Foundation asserted its relevance with the upper echelon of foodists once again at its annual Chefs & Champagne tasting event at the Wölffer Estate Vineyards in Sagaponack, New York. The Hamptons vineyard was also host to the gala in ‘08, just a few months before patriarch Christian Wölffer succumbed in a chilling boating accident last New Year’s Eve. Although the Four Seasons twins, Julian Niccolini and Alex Von Bidder, were ostensibly the event’s honorees, the afternoon was really about Wölffer’s legacy (a scholarship in his name was announced amid chatter, under the humid tents). Read more »

Julio Lazzarini and his friend the blender.

Last night’s episode of Chopped! demonstrated that, despite the New York–centric nature of the program, even chefs from as far as Wilmington, Delaware, have a shot at the title. That chef—Julio Lazzarini of Orillas Tapas Bar—was joined by Mark Spooner, a veritable mountain of a man and chef with Great Performances catering, “the fourth largest catering company in America,” Massimo Felici of DeGrezia restaurant in midtown, and Christine Campbell, a butcher and private chef working on Long Island. Judges were Aaron Sanchez, Scott Conant and Amanda Freitag—who sported a wispy, almost Shirley Temple–esque ‘do. Read more »

Michael Ferraro slices his ill-fated squid.

Apologies, Feed readers, for this late dispatch of Tuesday night’s episode of Chopped! We’ll be back in the saddle with (timely) recaps next week.

The second season of Chopped! moseyed along on Tuesday night with episode two. High-fives all around for the serious tristate-area representation: Chefs included Michael Ferraro of Delicatessen; John Lawson, executive sous chef at Gordon Ramsay at the London; David Kirschner (W Hotel in Hoboken); and Nicole Puzio (Ox Restaurant in Jersey City). Read more »

"I was a young punk once too."—Scott Conant

We sat down for the season finale of Chopped! with a tear in our eye. The memories of Hosea’s decidedly nonepic win of Top Chef are starting to fade, and The Chopping Block was an out-and-out failure. Without a weekly dose of Ted Allen, what will we be left with? Dinner: Impossible won’t fill the void…Lord, no. With that in mind, we delighted in last night’s viewing. Read more »

Chef Michael Giletto mastered the art of beefcake long ago.

Last night’s Chopped! was all about jumbo shrimp, pepperoni and cereal. Contestants ran the gamut, from Michael Giletto, executive chef at Cherry Valley Country Club and former Mr. America runner-up, to Jackie Lee, a “freelance private chef predominantly working on mega yachts.” Oh, Jackie! Don’t you know you’ve only made it once you work on a super yacht? The other contestants were personal-trainer-cum-pastry-chef Alina Eisenhauer, and Todd Miller, executive at STK. Judges for the episode were Amanda Freitag, Geoffrey Zakarian and Alex Guarnaschelli. Read more »

Raiding the fridge on Chopped!.

Last night’s episode of string cheese, jicama and gingersnaps featured some of the harshest criticism (save Gordo’s filthy tirades) that we’ve seen on any reality cooking show. A cantankerous Scott Conant was containing some serious anger  on Chopped!. He was joined at the judge’s table by Amanda Freitag and Geoffrey Zakarian. As for the contestants, there was Jonathan Jernigan of Catering by Jonathan; giant of a man Darius Peacock, executive chef of Exceptional Taste Catering; and executive chefs and business partners King Phojanakong of Kuma Inn and Phet Schwader, exec chef at Talay (which he runs with Phojanakong). Read more »

With a surprise batch of episodes airing every Tuesday until April 7 and a second season currently in production, Chopped! has proven it has staying power. And last night, it was all about quail, arctic char and beer. The contestants were Ralph Battista, executive chef at Butterfield 8; Abe Lopez of Pacifico in Center Valley, Pennsylvania; Lior Lev Sercarz of La Boîte à Epices; and Melinda Dorn, a chef whose “whole life has been leading up to this competition.” The judges for this episode were all vets of the show: Alex Guarnaschelli, Scott Conant, and Amanda Freitag—who was fresh from a hair-raising one-point loss to Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America last weekend. Read more »

Chef-judges Scott Conant, Amanda Freitag and Geoffrey Zakarian (from left) exert their power on Chopped!

Things got sloppy on last night’s Chopped!—and not in a good way. Many mistakes were made, with one being a possible first for a reality cooking show. But there were certainly none made when casting for this episode. This time around, the challengers were Knickerbocker executive chef Luis Gonzales; Einat Admony, owner of Taim; Sean Chudoba, executive chef at Ayza Chocolate & Wine Bar; and Kyle Shadix, a chef-dietitian. The guest judges were all welcome faces, as The Harrison chef Amanda Freitag, Geoffrey Zakarian, and last week’s Top Chef monkey, Scott Conant, lent their opinions to the show. Read more »