Top Chef Season 7 To Shoot In Dupont Circle

by Elias Shams
As a Washingtonian, I am very happy that our Nation’s Capitol is getting recognized rather than criticized and homogenized.  Top Chef Season 7 will be filming in Washington DC  during the first three weeks of April. The rumors are that the show’s contestants will be living near Dupont Circle, shopping at Whole Foods on P Street, NW and will be utilizing the Washington Hilton’s kitchen for their quickfire challenges.

Those of you love cooking and interested in getting new ideas, here is the opportunity.

I wonder why they didn’t pick me. With my Persian cooking style using pillow cover to make yogurt, making Kabob in fireplace,  my Persian rice, and  Macaroni, I would have kicked their ass. :-) Oh well :-( perhaps, next season. :-)

Anyway, each episode organizes two challenges for the chefs. The first is the quickfire challenge which tests their basic cooking skills and the second is a more involved elimination challenge designed to display the chef’s breadth and depth of cooking talent as well as managerial and teamwork skills. Former Top Chef contestants and winners have gone on to open their own restaurants or star in their own cooking shows. The show also has a long history of top contestants from the Washington, D.C. area including Carla Hall, Mike Isabella, Spike Mendelsohn and last season’s runner-up Bryan Voltaggio who I’d love to see him again. DC is not too far from where his restaurant, Volt is in Frederick, Maryland.

One thing’s for certain: If Michelle Obama offers up her White House garden to the producers, you’d better believe she’ll avoid a repeat of the Veggiegate incident that tarnished her appearance on this January’s Iron Chef America. And maybe we’ll even be graced by a cameo from last season’s nearby runner-up,  Bryan Voltaggio.