"Top Chefs" cooking at April 29 Delaware brunch

The News Journal

If you're a fan of "Top Chef," you're in for a treat.

Several past and present contestants of the popular Bravo TV series will be packing their knives and coming to Delaware.

Bruce Kalman (left), Chris Scott, Joe Sasto, Carrie Baird, Adrienne Cheatham are contestants on Season 15 of "Top Chef." Kalman and Baird are coming to Delaware April 29 for a brunch at the DuPont Country Club.

Dallas chef John Tesar, a two-time "Top Chef" competitor, will be the honorary chairman of the 21st annual Meals on Wheels Delaware Celebrity Chefs' Brunch April 29 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the DuPont Country Club in Rockland.

He'll be joined (again) by his fellow Season 14 contestants Katsuji Tanabe, who runs a Los Angeles Kosher-Mexican restaurant, and Jim Smith, the executive chef of the state of Alabama. All three came to the brunch last year.

Also scheduled to participate and cook at the 2018 springtime brunch are current "Top Chef" contestants Carrie Baird of Bar Dough in Denver, Colorado, and Bruce Kalman of Union in Pasadena, California.

"Top Chef" contestant Bruce Kalman is featured in the recent "Bronco Brouhaha" Episode. He'll be cooking in Delaware on April 29 for the Celebrity Chefs' Brunch at the DuPont Country Club.

The fancy Delaware brunch, a walk-around affair featuring small plates and various drink stations, traditionally features a slew of local and national chefs.

Tickets cost between $75 (a special rate only for those ages 35 and younger) and $125.

Tesar, who competed on "Top Chef" in Season 10 in Seattle and again on Season 14 in Charleston, South Carolina, first came to the open-to-the-public Delaware brunch in 2016.

He said he enjoyed it so much he returned in 2017 and invited several other "Top Chef" contestants, including his archrival Tanabe.

"I love this event," Tesar said with a huge smile in 2017 as he plated scrambled eggs sprinkled with truffles and served with thick slices of Iberico bacon.

Tanabe, who wore a chef's jacket with "I Hate Vegans" stitched on his sleeve, spent the day needling Tesar as well as posing for selfies with fans.

Long lines formed at their cooking stations at the Rockland country club as guests waited to chat, take photos and eat food made by the "Top Chef" contestants.

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The 2017 event featured a sell-out crowd of more than 1,000 people.

The current season of "Top Chef," filmed in Colorado, is airing on Thursday nights at 9 p.m.

Chef Carrie Baird has been a strong contestant all season and has consistently won the hearts, and taste buds, of the judges with her dishes.

She is currently one of four remaining chefs, out of a field of 19, competing for the title of "Top Chef."

Denver Chef Carrie Baird, a current contestant on Season 15 of "Top Chef," will be cooking at the DuPont Country Club on April 29. Tickets are available to the celebrity chefs' brunch.

Kalman, a New Jersey native who's known for his Northern Italian cooking style, was one of five remaining chefs, but he was eliminated from the competition on the Feb. 8 episode.

Denver chef/restaurateur Alex Seidel, who has appeared as a guest judge this season on "Top Chef, also is cooking at the Delaware event.

Another TV face coming to the brunch that might be familiar to some attendees is Huda Mu’min of Pretty and Delicious.

Mu'min has appeared on the Food Network series "Cutthroat Kitchen" and was on the first season of ABC’s “The Taste” with Anthony Bourdain and Nigella Lawson.

Katsuji Tanabe and John Tesar, arch rivals on Season 14 of "Top Chef," are returning to this year's Celebrity Chefs' Brunch on April 29 at the DuPont Country Club.

"Top Chef" contestants seem to be drawn to Delaware. Fabio Viviani, one of the most memorable contestants to appear on the Bravo TV series, is opening a Pike Creek restaurant later this year.

Chuck Lager's Tavern, a rustic-style restaurant, is scheduled to open by late summer or early fall in the new Linden Hill Station at the corner of Limestone and New Linden Hill roads.

Other chefs featuring dishes at the April 29 Celebrity Chefs' brunch include Paul Bachand of Recipe – A Neighborhood Kitchen in Newberg, Oregon; Patrick Bradley of Wilmington's Tonic Bar and Grille; Hari Cameron of a(MUSE.) in Rehoboth Beach; Donald Drake of Magnolias in Charleston, South Carolina; Brandon Foster of Denver's Project Angel Heart; Dan Fox of Heritage Tavern in Madison, Wisconsin; new Domaine Hudson executive chef Pat D’Amico; Cliff Lyness of Brookstreet in Ottawa, Ontario; Anthony Marini of AMI Group Hospitality; Bruce Moffett of Barrington’s Restaurant of Charlotte, North Carolina; Lamar Moore of Chicago's Currency Exchange Cafe; JD Morton of Wilmington's Eclipse Bistro; Deb Paquette of Etch in Nashville; Paul C. Reilly of Denver's Beast + Bottle; Larry Schreiber of Good Food on Montford in Charlotte; BJ Smith of Smokehouse Tavern in Portland, Oregon; Cassy Vires-Renbarger of Companion Baking of St. Louis, Missouri; Jernard Wells, the Atlanta-based author “88 Ways To Her Heart: Cooking For Lovers;" and Lauren White of Taverna Rustic Italian in Newark.

Over the years, several "Top Chef" contestants have come to the Meals on Wheels Delaware Celebrity Chefs' Brunch. This year, Bruce Kalman and Carrie Baird will be cooking at the April 29 event.

The fundraiser benefits Meals on Wheels Delaware, a nonprofit that serves meals to homebound senior citizens, aged 60 and older.

For more information and tickets to the brunch, visit http://mealsonwheelsde.org/celebrity-chefs-brunch/

Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 or ptalorico@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @pattytalorico