'Top Chef' premieres Wednesday with Oklahoma City's Joshua Valentine
BY NICOLE MARSHALL MIDDLETON World Scene Writer
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
11/07/12 at 3:24 AM
A chef from Oklahoma City has a shot at claiming the coveted title of "Top Chef: Seattle" when the show premieres Wednesday.
To the disappointment of his Oklahoma City fans, Joshua Valentine closed his restaurant, The Divine Swine Pork Bistro, so he could film the show.
Valentine was known for making everything from scratch, including the ketchup, gravies and breads, according to the restaurant's website. He smoked his own bacon and ground the meat for his sausage and burgers.
And after he returned from filming the show, he took a job as pastry chef for FT33, a restaurant in Dallas.
Valentine is featured on the 10th season of the Emmy- and James Beard Award-winning series that airs at 9 p.m. Wednesday on Bravo, Cox channel 46.
Famed chef and restaurant mogul Wolfgang Puck also joins as a judge this season, alongside Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, Hugh Acheson and Emeril Lagasse with Padma Lakshmi returning as host, as 21 contestants compete for the "Top Chef" crown.
The franchise has catapulted nine "Top Chef" winners' careers, and this season the competition goes back to the basics, with culinary challenges that require a mastery of the primary skills of a chef, according to information from the show.
The "Top Chef: Seattle" competitors will be pared down week by week, and the winning chef will receive $125,000 furnished by Healthy Choice, a feature in Food & Wine magazine, a showcase at the Annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen and will earn the title of "Top Chef."
The Oklahoman contributed to this story.
Original Print Headline: OKC man has shot at 'Top Chef' win
Nicole Marshall Middleton 918-581-8459
nicole.marshall@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Oklahoma's Joshua Valentine is a competitor on "Top Chef: Seattle" on Bravo. MATTHIAS CLAMER / Bravo
Oklahoma's Joshua Valentine (foreground) competes in the casting episode of "Top Chef: Seattle," airing at 9 p.m. Wednesday on Bravo, cable 46. ISABELLA VOSMIKOVA / Bravo
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