Web Search powered by YAHOO! SEARCH
share
email
font size
options
 
Friday, August 7, 2009
"Top Chef" hopeful Jennifer Zavala leaves El Camino Real

Top Chef hopeful Jennifer Zavala says she's leaving El Camino Real in Northern Liberties, on the eve of her debut on this season's premiere.

So ...? Does that mean ...?

"It has nothing to do with the series," she told me this morning. She says the restaurant name is mentioned once in her introduction.

Today (8/7) is her last day at the border bar on Liberties Walk, which opened in December. She had been involved in the project for a year, all told.

Zavala, 31, told me that she's weighing "other opportunities," including a possible role at Xochitl. She said her departure was amicable. "I want to stay friends with" owner Owen Kamihira.

"No drama is my mantra," Kamihira told me.

(If you're puzzling over Zavala's Top Chef photo, she has the word "sacred" tattooed on her throat and "scarred" across her upper chest.) 

Top Chef premieres Aug. 19. Also appearing this season will be Jennifer Carroll of 10 Arts at the Ritz-Carlton.

 

Posted by Michael Klein @ 10:50 AM  Permalink | File Under: TableTalk | 4 comments
Comments   
Posted 12:12 PM, 08/07/2009
Nickawampus Leroy
I think she's running away and joining the circus. The "Tattooed Lady"
Posted 12:52 PM, 08/07/2009
meghanleigh
really, "nickawampus?" are you 80 and/or live in lancaster?
Posted 01:11 PM, 08/07/2009
wilson
Good. The food at El Camino was terrible. Let's hope somebody better comes in.
Posted 05:44 PM, 08/21/2009
stefjoy2
Her tattoo says SCARRED. I don't know how writers pay so little attention.
4 comments
About Michael Klein
Michael Klein chronicles local people, places and things (in easy-to-digest portions) three days a week in his Inquirer column "INQlings." He also covers the restaurant scene in his Thursday Food column, "Table Talk." See his work at http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/michael_klein.
Advertise Here
The Insider Video Show