Over two months and nine episodes, “Top Chef” tasted some of Wisconsin's greatest food traditions. But in the latest episode, the popular Bravo cooking competition delves into what is arguably one of the most extravagant of all: a meat raffle.
Bars across the country host all kinds of contests, from trivia to billiards, darts, and all kinds of video games and pinball machines. But in most parts of the Midwest, the big bar contest is the meat raffle. In the name of charity and community friendship, people come together to obtain the finest raw meat. And now “Top Chef” takes a look at one of our most carnivorous habits. A variety of meats, from the finest to the mediocre to the downright unusual, are set on the table and raffled off to his six remaining chefs this season who will cook in Wednesday's Quickfire His Challenge. Masu.
While filming this Quickfire in September, I had the chance to visit the show's Oak Creek set. While we won't give away any spoilers about whose beef was the best, I was able to sit down with “Top Chef” stars Kristen Kish, Gail Simmons and Tom Colicchio to talk about their high-risk steak strategies for the challenge, their thoughts on the sconcealed season on and off screen, the hardest parts about competing on “Top Chef,” and more.
OnMilwaukee: If you were participating in this Meat Raffle Rapid Fire Challenge, what would you really want and what would you not have?
Kristen Kish: So one of the things I learned from “Top Chef” is that unless it's something you've never dealt with before and you don't know how to use or you just don't have the inspiration, you can I mean, at some point. That way, if you get stuck on something, it doesn't matter what you choose, even if you have a first choice like Gail said. What matters is what you do with what you are given. That's what this contest is all about.
Tom Colicchio: The thing I didn't like was probably the canned stuff. I can see why someone would pick up the wagyu beef if it were my first choice, but it depends on what dishes you make with it. Because I still have to cook. It's not just grilling meat. When I went inside and thought about what to do, I saw that there was a small green pepper. It might have been fun to make small stuffed peppers with minced chicken, adding some herbs and spices. I don't know if I have enough time to cook rice, but maybe I can assemble something, stuff it with little peppers and bake it in a wood-fired oven. I think it's fun.
Gail Simmons: My choice would have been the lamb chops. It feels like a small way to differentiate. I love making lamb chops. You can use anything and it has a different flavor than beef or pork.
And corned beef is probably my biggest fear. I've never cooked with corned beef before. I mean, I've had corned beef, but I've never had canned corned beef. And it's super salty and it's hard to substitute for something else. I have some ideas of what I would do, but if I don't do it really well, it's going to be really bad.
What do you think is the most difficult part of each assignment? Thinking about cooking and cooking.
TC: Time. Time is always the hardest. The cooking part is interesting because I think where a lot of chefs get tripped up is because they try to do too much and they don't actually cook enough, because they're running around all over the place and whatever they're cooking isn't cooked right.
Also, due to the layout of the kitchen, the cooking surface is not near the stove, so you have to keep one eye on the stove and the other eye on the cooking process at the same time.
GS: It's all difficult. I think it's really, really difficult for all chefs to come up with something healthy, cut through the noise, choose something, trust your intuition and go for it. She has two seconds of time, and when she gets absorbed in it, she starts looking at what other people are doing, she starts thinking about what she could have done, and other things come to her mind. It's very easy to get caught up in it. And the clock is always an issue.
When judging, would you rather have a perfectly cooked but predictable dish or a dish that is imperfectly cooked but unique and original?
TC: Neither. (Laughs) But you touch on something. I'm not being subjective when I judge, when I look at whether something is technically cooked or not. Seasoning is also not subjective to me. In particular, dishes that are under-seasoned or over-seasoned are not subjective. This season we have had many dishes that are salty and over seasoned. But that part is not subjective, so I'll get that done first.
So, all these things being equal, look at that challenge and what they actually did – the composition, whether they were inspired in that challenge. But at the same time, I tried to understand what the chef was trying to do. A lot of times it doesn't show up on camera, but for me the intent is important, so I ask questions. So if they intended to do something and they achieved it, that's great. If not, it's wrong. So it's not one thing, it's not one or the other. It's also in stages. We're not looking for the best dish in the world. We're looking for the best dish and the worst dish that the chef just cooked. It's all on the scale.
And then I end up discussing it with the other judges because there are often things that the judges notice that I don't or that they don't notice, and hopefully we can take everything into account and choose the right winner, especially if we're still undecided.
Kristen, what is it like taking on this big role for the first time?
KK: You know, everything is going really, really, really well. I didn't know what was going to happen, but I think that was the best part of the whole thing. Of course I know what Padma did and created in this role, but my job was to step into this role and play me and be me. She left a wide space of freedom and opportunity to figure everything out on her own.
Was there anything that surprised you throughout this process?
KK: It all already feels like a pleasant surprise: that I'm here, that I got this job. Every day surprises me, but knowing how the show works, in a lot of ways it also feels very familiar and expected.
Why is Milwaukee and Wisconsin a good fit for this season of “Top Chef”?
GS: Actually, we haven't explored much of the Midwest. Season 4 featured Chicago, but it was focused on the city. I think the Midwest is a big swath of the country, first of all, with a lot of chefs appearing on “Top Chef.” When telling the story of American food, I think the Midwest cannot be ignored. It's the best time of the year and there's a lot going on here, so I thought it was the right time to do it.
TC: It's funny because we always get solicitations like, “Hey, here's a great restaurant!” But we don't do that. We don't go to restaurants and sample restaurants. But there are great food traditions everywhere in this country, usually traditions brought by people who settled in the area long ago and even more recently. Our producers are so good at finding that. And then we make it real and we're really focused and having fun with it. We've never been here and we haven't spent much time in the Midwest, except for a season in Chicago a long time ago. So there's no reason not to do it!
KK: After 20 seasons, it was just a natural progression to come to this region, this area of ​​the Midwest. I think Top Chef does a really great job of picking a location, wherever it is, and highlighting it and raising interest in places that people haven't been to. But for me, I grew up right on the lake in Michigan, so it's familiar to me, so I think it was a great choice.
Michigan is similarly often overlooked when it comes to cuisine, so how does it feel to be able to help shine a light on this region?
KK: No matter where you go, there's always great chefs and great food, and great families and history and tradition that bring the cuisine to every part of the country. That's the great thing about it. I'm learning that there are a lot of Hmong people living here, and with that comes great food. There is a large Eastern European population here, which brings with it delicious food. The best part of going anywhere is seeing the melting pot of what has been formed.
Do you have a favorite dish or spot while traveling here in Wisconsin?
KK: I say the same thing over and over again. We all think we have plenty of time to eat out, but that's actually not the case. Our job is to eat, so just because we're hungry right after filming doesn't mean we'll go out to eat again afterwards. I'm just trying to get to a lot of places in a short amount of time. I wish I had more time to really eat my way around town, but I don't. But the taste makes me want to go back and explore more.
GS: A lot! We went to Three Brothers, Allie Boys, 1033, and Harbor House. I've known Paul Bartolotta long before I came here, since he just opened a restaurant in Las Vegas, so I had the pleasure of meeting him again and trying out his Milwaukee restaurant, his classic Bartolotta restaurant. I was really looking forward to it. I've been to Uncle Wolfie's Breakfast Tavern several times. I've had delicious Vietnamese, Lao, and Hmong food several times in several places. I also went to Zocalo. Friday night was really fun. I also went to Madison. We went to the Tornado Room, the farmers market, and A Pig In A Fur Coat.
Is there anything you feel is missing from Milwaukee's food scene?
GS: I've been trying not to think about what the city is missing over the past few years, especially because of “Top Chef.” A city is built on the immigrants who built it and the people who came here. Every city is different. So I'm not sure if I'm missing something.
We're traveling, so we'd love to eat out on Sunday nights and Mondays, but with the size of the city and the way restaurants are post-pandemic, I think it's going to be hard to find places that are open. We've cooked for ourselves a few nights, but we've mostly stayed in hotels and we're not always able to do that. So, I think that's the only problem. We need more late-night places, and we need more Sunday and Monday places, because that fits our filming schedule. (Laughs)
Was there anything about Milwaukee or Wisconsin that surprised you when you got here?
GS: I'd been to Wisconsin before – to Madison on a book tour, one night in the middle of winter, and then to Kohler a couple of times for the Food & Wine Experience. So I knew a little bit about it. But like any city you settle in for a long time, it's very nuanced. The people are different, and the people are surprising. I'm really glad that people in Wisconsin, and especially Milwaukee, are so happy and excited that we're here. We can't get stopped anywhere and eat without anyone knowing. It's been really nice.
But if you dig a little deeper into the culinary history of this place, you find a lot more than you might think on the surface. When we moved here, everyone just said, “Oh, beer and cheese curds and frozen custard.” Sure, those are all here, and they're all great. But there's obviously so much more. And even within those three categories, there are nuances and stories and histories, and the people who make them and the farms that supply them. And that's so interesting to learn.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
