Philly's top chefs
Two local guys vie for 150G, a feature in Food & Wine and bragging rights in Bravo's new season of "Top Chef, New Orleans."
/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-pmn.s3.amazonaws.com/public/QAKT26BF5FEYHNQCVS5L7UROG4.jpg)
WHEN YOU'RE competing on a hit reality-TV show like Bravo's "Top Chef," and the season (11) has just begun, you can't say much.
Local competitors Jason Cichonski and Nick Elmi, both incredibly talented (and not too bad on the eyes, either) chef-restaurateurs, can't say how long they filmed the show (although according to insiders, it's eight weeks).
Elmi and Cichonski can't say if or when they got eliminated.
They sure can't say if one of them won.
On the other hand, if you've already won Bravo TV's "Top Chef," you can pretty much talk all you want. Philly chef-restaurateur Kevin Sbraga won Season 7. Happily helming his own swanky Broad Street bistro, Sbraga, and working on opening a Southern satellite in West Philly called Fat Ham, he's confident he knows who packs their knives and who sticks around past dessert.
"I can tell from the editing how well people did. . . . Even before people start making food," said Sbraga. "Once you go through the process, it's pretty easy to figure out."
So, does he feel like sharing this insider intel? Not so much.
He does have a positive prediction, however. "It's good for Philadelphia."