This week's cheftestant profile involves travel to you, rather than a self-initiated jaunt to a cast member's restaurant. Laurine Wickett, whose tenure on Top Chef effectively ended after what is arguably the show's most difficult challenge, "Restaurant Wars," has since returned to San Francisco where she runs Left Coast Catering.

New York born, but Northern California bred—at least in the culinary sense—Laurine incorporates the Bay Area's various cultural influences into market-fresh menus for her clients. Whether left coast parents planning a Bat Mitzvah or bride-to-be hosting a dessert reception, Laurine will provide you with options galore. We perused some of her sample menus online, which reflect a flavorful Californian approach to cooking while turning to other regions of the world for inspiration. She does everything from sushi stations to steak and french fries, on the same menu if you'd like guests to have multiple options. Her ill-fated Pork Rillette (or, as Dana Cowin punishingly put it, "cat food") made no appearance on any of the menus we saw. ]]> Heidi Atwal 2009-11-05T15:29:22-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/29/1101/1608

Northern California native Ash Fulk didn't have it easy during his run on Top Chef. He didn't win one challenge on the show, and was eventually asked to pack his knives and head back to New York City, where he serves as a Sous Chef at Trestle on Tenth. The Swiss-French-American restaurant is a neighborhood-y locale open for breakfast, brunch (on weekends), lunch and dinner, making it a go-to spot for Chelsea diners looking for elevated comfort food. And schnitzel.

Trestle's menus aren't intimidating in the way that many contemporary, haute cuisine restaurants tend to be. Here you'll find familiar dishes with a Swiss-French influence that makes them just different enough to be memorable, without being too perplexing or stomach-turning. We're still wondering why fellow TC contestant Hector would dare include Tofu Ceviche on his menu. No, Trestle is where you'll find a Signature House Burger, Cobb Salad, Roasted Chicken with Seasonal Vegetables in Consommè, and Coriander Hanger Steak. ]]> Heidi Atwal 2009-10-29T14:24:18-05:00 40.7483811 -74.003639 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/22/132118/21

Sail away with Jacques Pepin

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Top Chef restaurant profile with food news of a different sort. Today, instead of highlighting an aspiring top chef, we're calling attention to a few names who earned their stripes after years in the industry and a consistent record of putting out great food. Nothing against the current crop of Vegas hopefuls, but there is something to be said for gaining cred in the days preceding reality television.

Some of these real-life top chefs, like Nancy Oakes of San Francisco's Boulevard and Jacques Pepin, will be joining 2010's Food & Wine Trails cruise roster, allowing fans to follow them to the ends of the Earth, in a manner of speaking.

As you can guess, deck volleyball isn't a high priority on-board. Travelers are there for tastings and pairings alongside some of the country's most famous wine makers, with stops at European cities and wineries—not one of those oh-so-perky family resorts you see advertised on television. ]]> Heidi Atwal 2009-10-22T16:03:42-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/15/114837/22

As we uphold our weekly tradition of highlighting ex-cheftestants, giving due attention to the poor souls that didn't make it to the Final Three, we arrive at sprightly French chef Mattin Noblia. With a million-watt smile and red neckerchief that we hope he was wearing ironically, Noblia stole our hearts for being so disarmingly sweet...or maybe it was the accent. Either way, Padma and Co. bid Mattin au revoir after he presented a disastrous ceviche that Tom Colicchio found so offensive he actually spit it out. Tragic.

When he's not flashing his boyish grin on national television, Mattin can be found at Iluna Basque, his San Francisco restaurant. As you can guess from its name, the cuisine is inspired by the Basque region, served up on small plates that diners are encouraged to share. ]]> Heidi Atwal 2009-10-15T17:08:37-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/9/21756/9432

For oenophiles in search of a good grape escape, you have options other than Napa. Top Chef Master Rick Bayless suggests heading to Baja California, specifically Adobe Guadalupe, a winery in the Guadalupe Valley near Ensenada. Bayless tweeted that it was one of the best of the 50 wineries in the region.

Adobe Guadalupe's 60-yard vineyard produces varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Tempranillo, Nebbiolo, Syrah, Cinsault, Mourvedre, Merlot and Viognier. The winery, which makes 5,000 cases of vino each year, names its blends after archangels, such as Gabriel, Serafiel and Uriel. ]]> Jennifer Kester 2009-10-09T08:57:15-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/8/134253/278

Axed Top Chef contestant Hector Santiago may be large in stature, but what he serves are small dishes—tapas, to be exact. Tapas, for the unfamiliar, are small plates meant to be shared among many and are traditional in Spanish cuisine. At his Atlanta restaurant, Pura Vida ("Pure Life"), Santiago has taken the communal style of eating and practices a "no-rules approach" to cooking. For him that means melding unusual flavors and eschewing tradition to come up with dishes like...Tofu "Ceviche." Oh, boy. Memories of Jennifer's seitan-stuffed peppers from Episode One are coming to mind.

A few questionable choices aside (Trout Ceviche with jelly, canchita corn and milk, anyone? We didn't think so.), many of these cross-cultural menu items are appealing precisely because they're unusual. We're dying to know more about his take on Duck Confit, which comes with caramelized plantains, and Chicken Picadillo Empanadas with a chile-sugar cane vinegar "pique." And, you can't go wrong with Button Mushrooms Pinchos in chipolte garlic butter, Santiago's take on Spanish champiñones. ]]> Heidi Atwal 2009-10-08T15:38:27-05:00 33.7723637 -84.352540 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/24/13812/4814

Pierced and tattooed to the nines, recently booted Top Chef contestant Jennifer Zavala claimed to have a fiery temper on the first episode of this season, but her dish—a disastrous seitan-stuffed pepper—was anything but hot and enticing. It looked and apparently tasted like a mealy, flavorless mess, which ultimately confused the judges and sent her packing.

But Zavala, like many other Top Chef hopefuls, isn't a culinary novice and won't be crying over her Santoku knife now that she's returned to Philadelphia. Hot like fire Zavala, whose cooking, we hope, doesn't always go the way of bland vegan fare, is a sous chef at Philly's Xochitl. Say it with us: so-cheet. There she helps whip up new Mexican cuisine that's familiar, but with a modern, elevated twist. ]]> Heidi Atwal 2009-09-24T15:26:42-05:00 39.9428914 -75.145447 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/