High Steaks

It truly amazes me each and every year how much the old saying is true: Time flies when you’re having fun. And my friends, I’ve been having a blast! I know we usually talk about how to add “spice” to “life” via the kitchen, with a new ingredient, technique or recipe. But to start off this year, I want to share with you an experience I recently had the pleasure to be part of outside the kitchen.

I’ve been buddies with Chef Tom Colicchio for quite a while. As most of you I’m sure know, he’s the man behind the BRAVO hit series, Top Chef. This show, now in its ninth season, has brought the high-pressure professional kitchen culture into homes across the nation as chef-testants battle it out, challenge after challenge, to compete for their shot at culinary stardom and the chance to earn the title of ‘Top Chef.’

So, when Tom called me up and asked if I wanted to be part of the Dallas segment of “Top Chef: Texas,” of course I agreed! There are several talented, famous chefs in Dallas, so I felt honored they asked me. Not only did I get to experience the production of a television show and spend time with the beautiful Padma Lakshmi and my buddy Tom, my old friend Emeril Lagasse was a new face to the judges panel this season to boot! (Turns out, he wasn’t part of episode six which was a bit of a letdown).

The first day I showed up at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute in Dallas, I was amazed at the sheer number of folks on the production crew. It was huge! The producers, the light crew, the sound guys, the cameramen, the editors all working in 12-hour shifts … there is one person who just irons Padma’s clothes! It was really amazing to see everyone work together. The second thing I noticed was just how nice everyone was on the set. With a huge 100-plus crew running 24 hours-a-day to turn around the day’s footage – that’s tough work. And they all did it with a smile.

For Day One filming, we stayed at Le Cordon Bleu for the Quickfire challenge. The chef-testants were asked to create a dish stemming from one of five mother sauces – Béchamel, Espagnole, Velouté, Tomaté or Hollandaise. I was honestly surprised that a few chefs lacked the basic technique on these mother sauces, but Grayson’s dish was just perfection: Scallop, Corn Ravioli topped with Charred Corn Sauce with Paprika, with Blueberry Balsamic Reduction. I was happy to give her immunity from elimination!

Day Two took us to Southfork Ranch, the renowned filming location for the television series “Dallas.” The Elimination Challenge was to prepare a progressive four-course beef menu for 200-seated guests at the Annual Dallas Cattle Barons’ Ball benefiting the American Cancer Society. Before I left the chef-testants on day one, I explained they needed to get a medium rare steak on the table to each guest. And I won’t ruin it for you, but … I ate the worst steak and potatoes of my life that night!

Judging the dishes was a lot of fun, but honestly it was easy to pick the chef to pack her knives and send home that night. Raw scalloped potatoes are inexcusable. And so boring! Luckily, Tom had told me that we judges would have quite a bit of downtime throughout the two days of filming. (It’s funny how much footage is filmed, and then you see the final product condensed into a 42-minute episode and it’s like, ‘That’s it?!’) He and I have been trying for years to get together and play some music, but it just hadn’t worked out until then. I brought my guitar with me and he had his, and we just got to play together for a few hours – it was actually one of the personal highlights of this experience for yours truly!

Open yourself up to a new experience as we welcome yet another year. Make 2012 a spicy, unforgettable year!