Alex Guarnaschelli dishes on challenges, days off, social media, and more (interview)

OmNomCT checks in with Alex . . . don’t miss her at this year’s Greenwich Wine + Food Festival! Picture courtesy of Alex Guarnaschelli.

Chef Alex Guarnaschelli has become synonymous with Food Network, and there’s good reason: she’s an integral part of their food programming. Whether it’s through her culinary prowess as an Iron Chef, her show Alex’s Day Off, dishing about her favorite eats of all time on The Best Thing I Ever Ate, or throwing down her expertise as a judge on shows like Chopped and Beat Bobby Flay, Chef Guaranschelli’s resume speaks for itself. In addition, she’s executive chef of Butter in NYC which brings in stellar reviews and press. 

We recently had the chance to interview Alex and talked to her about her most difficult challenges, what she really does on her days off, the importance of social media, a sneak into her recipe creation process, and more. Don’t forget, you can see Alex at this year’s Greenwich Wine + Food Festival. She’ll be hosting a sustainable dinner along with Marc Murphy which includes local chefs, she’ll also be a judge during the Burger Battle, signing copies of her book at 2:00, speaking at 1:30 in the Green Room, and cooking up an amazing demo at 3:00 at Dacor Kitchen Two. 

Iron Chef Judge Donatella Arpaia Talks Food + More @ Fairfield University

Photo: Donatella Arpaia; Credit: Anna Williams

If you’re up on the world of food culture like we are, you definitely know who Donatella Arpaia is. But, in case you need a reminder, here goes:

• She’s a graduate of Fairfield University, class of ’93
• She is lead judge on Iron Chef America and The Next Iron Chef.
• She’s a regular on NBC TODAY.
• She’s the owner of Kefi restaurant in NYC.
• She’s just plain awesome. ;)

Geoffrey Zakarian Talks The National Greenwich, Kathie Lee, Future Plans + More

Dan and Kristien with Chef Geoffrey Zakarian at Greenwich Wine Food Festival 2014

Hmm, when you have the chance to chat with a man as complex Chef Geoffrey Zakarian, where do you start? He fought his way to the top against a slew of other chefs to gain his spot on Iron Chef America! You see him as a judge on Chopped and he brightens your Saturday morning on The Kitchen with Sunny Anderson, Katie Lee, Jeff Mauro, and Marcela Valladolid. Chances are, too, that he’s in your kitchen . . . well, in cookbook form at least with My Perfect Pantry and Town | Country. But maybe most interesting to you, our Omnomivores, is his Greenwich roots: yes, The Avenue was his old stomping grounds and soon he’ll be stomping it more as he opens up his new restaurant, The National Greenwich. He goes into depth about that, not following restaurant trends, how he handles critiquing others, his appearances at the Greenwich Wine + Food Festival, Kathie Lee, becoming the new President of the Food Council for City Harvest, and what’s in the works next for him in our interview, so go ahead and get your reading on below . . . 

Home Cooks: Open Call for Food Network’s All-Star Academy

Food Network is looking for the best home cooks in the nation to be on All-Star Academy Season 2 and their next stop is NYC. On 9/26 from 10:30-2:30 they’ll be at Rustico Cooking (40 West 39th St. 2nd Floor) and will be searching for the best. To get your shot at not only being mentored by one of the amazing celebrity chefs on The Food Network but to also take home $50,000, make sure to stop by. Here’s what you need to do:

RSVP

Bring a savory dish that highlights your cooking abilities.

A completed casting application

A photo of your dish

A photo of yourself

All information and applications can be found right here.

Good luck all you home cooks out there . . . and if you can’t attend, you can still apply by clicking here. 

Chef Adam Greenberg of Fortina Competes on Chopped: Results (Spoiler Alert)

The Competitors for Chopped, Late Night Food Brawl. Local chef Adam Greenberg is pictured to the right. Photo from foodnetwork.com

If you were given a plate of poutine with cold cheese all blobbed together on top of soggy fries and were then told that you needed to make a dish using that Canadian treat, Italian sausage, and tomatillos what would you make? Well, hell, we’d just eat the stuff, but the four competitors on Food Network’s Chopped last night needed to figure that one out . . . and quick. 

One of those four chefs who were competing for the $10,000 prize was Adam Greenberg, the former Executive Chef at the uber-successful Barcelona in West Hartford. Although he doesn’t work there anymore, he’s not too far away from Fairfield County now as he works at Fortina in Rye Brook, NY . . . just over the CT border. To see Chef Greenberg compete in Chopped wasn’t anything new for the Fortina boys, though, because Christian Petroni was also a competitor and laid down the law, taking home the big prize himself.

Rewrapped: Chef Neil Fuentes of Jojoto in Branford Takes on Food Network Again

Chef Neil Fuentes, the Singing Chef, is making his return to Food Network this Saturday, 12/6, at 1 pm. Previously, Chef Fuentes who recently opened the sizzling Venezuelan restaurant Jojoto in Branford, was a competitor on Chopped. But, ironically enough, he chopped himself . . . well, more like his finger. But, he’s back, and he’s back for redemption! 

Cooking Channel Gets Added to Optimum Lineup; Food Lovers Start Binge Watching Marathon

Mo Rocca and Ruth Teig during an episode of My Grandmother’s Ravioli, Courtesy Cooking Channel

Finally, the day has arrived.  NY Metropolitan area Cablevision/Optimum subscribers are getting Cooking Channel, Food Network‘s sister channel.  Find it by couch surfing over to Channel 166.  We’ve missed Cooking Channel very much after our move to Greenwich (we had AT&T in Stamford), so we’re very happy to see Optimum step up to the plate for all the food obsessed people out here.  Even better?  There are so many more shows that they’ve added to the lineup since we’ve lasted checkout out Cooking Channel, including a few of your Food Network favorites.

Now, you can look forward to some new shows such as (full listings here):

CT-based celebrity chefs Twice Baked Twins storm Grade A Market for tastings and book signing

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The odds of a chef making it onto local TV, Food Network, The Talk, having recipes shared by people like Oprah, and having a wildly successful cookbook are pretty slim.  So, you could imagine how much crazier it would be to stick two people into the equation, taking over the cooking and recipe scene together.  But, that’s just what Joy and Judy Paoletti, The Twice Baked Twins, have done.  While they are identical twins, they show you how to make a dish in not so identical ways:  Joy makes the traditional version, while Judy creates the time-saving version.  As we suggested, you might have seen The Twice Baked Twins on Food Network’s “Dear Food Network,” in your local paper, on The Talk, in countless online magazines, and even on a weekly basis on our own local Better CT on WFSB.

Casting Call: Guy’s Grocery Games Looking for Chefs for Season 2

Guy Fieri and the crew of Food Network‘s “Guy’s Grocery Games” are looking for talented chefs and professional cooks for Season 2.  Do you think that you or someone you know can handle the craziness of this brand new food competition show that has a surprise around every single grocery aisle?  If so, you’ll want to submit your info for a chance to compete (like our buddy Chef Plum of Newtown, CT did) and get up to a $20,000 prize.  

If you’d like a shot, send an e-mail here that includes:

City/State in the subject line of your e-mail

In the body of your e-mail, share…

• your name
• phone number
• your current title of occupation
• a description of your culinary background
• a recent photo of you
• a few photos of dishes that you’ve created
• and why you think you have what it takes to win

Good luck everybody! 

Hunter Zampa from Stamford to Compete on Chopped: Teen Talent

Chef Hunter Zampa who competed on Rachael vs. Guy discusses the finer points of his killer venison chili

Update:  how did Hunter Zampa do?  Find out here! 

Hunter Zampa might only be 13, but this Stamford resident has fit a lot of cooking into those years.  He recently created an excellent venison chili for the Stamford Chili Cook-off and also competed in another contest.  This one, though, was a bit bigger:  Rachael vs. Guy:  Kids Cook-off.  Hunter performed very well, cooking his way to the top three of the finale.  

Well, you can’t keep a good chef down!  He’ll be back for more, competing this time on Chopped:  Teen Talent edition.  His episode airs on 12/10 at 10 pm and will pit Hunter against three other youngsters hungry for the $40,000 scholarship.