Food world celebrities gathered at the Astor Center last night for a lively discussion on the phenomenon of celebrity chefs. Andrew Carmellini, Gwen Hyman, David Chang, Gail Simmons of Top Chef, and Mitchell Davis of The James Beard Foundation all weighed in on the celebrity craze, which has infiltrated kitchens everywhere like roaches. Only recently, some argued, has the idea of the celebrity chef become a prominent force in American culinary culture. Customers take digital pictures of every entrée, kids trade Iron Chef results like they were baseball statistics, and weirdos in Helsinki post wistful paeans to Tom Colicchio on Top Chef fansites. Some soundbites from last night:
Simmons on the pre-Top Chef world: “When I told my Mom I was going to be on a reality show, I had to convince her that I wasn’t going to be tied to a tree on an island in a bikini, eating maggots.”Continue reading "Celebrated Chefs Discuss Celebrity at Astor Center"


