Results tagged “chefs”

Wednesday marked the second episode from this season of Top Chef. There's still too many cooks, not enough personalities, but we're busy keeping our eyes peeled for any reality tv drama related to local cheftestants Ashley Merriman (of Branzino) and Robin Leventhal (chef-owner of Crave).

The fifth season of Top Chef kicked off on Bravo last night, and we're excited to see what the two cheftestants from Seattle can do in Las Vegas over the next few months. As always, the first episode (and the next few thereafter) have far too many characters to keep track of, but we were watching for local ladies Ashley Merriman (of Branzino) and Robin Leventhal (chef-owner of our dearly departed Crave).

Back in February, the Bravo TV show Top Chef was in town casting contestants for season six. On the side, we've always had our own predictions on who should or would make it, and as we found out today, one of our picks Robin Leventhal, the former chef/owner of now-defunct Crave made it onto the show. And she won't be the only one representing Seattle, as Ashley Merriman, chef of Branzino, will also fill out the Pacific Northwest cast quota. This season will take place in Vegas, and has already been rumored to be one of the tastiest competitions yet. Guess we will just have to wait and see our local ladies hold their own. Top Chef: Las Vegas will premiere on Bravo Wednesday, August 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Restaurant newshound Nancy Leson of the Seattle Times broke the surprising news yesterday that The Oceanaire Seafood Room has shut its doors for good. It turns out their parent company--which has already removed Seattle from its website and closed down its blog, Facebook, and Twitter feed on June 30--filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, revealing that their new restructuring plan included shutting down four of the sixteen chain seafood restaurants across the U.S. While we typically don't profess our love for chain restaurants, we do have to admire and appreciate Oceanaire for bringing the talented former executive chefs Kevin Davis, 2001-06 (Steelhead Diner), Eric Donnelly, 2006-08 (Toulouse), and Aaron Valimont, 2008-09, into the Seattle food community.