Photo by blueiris2006The D.C. season of Top Chef began filming today, and rumors are flying around the city like Hung Huynh with a hot pan through a crowded kitchen. DCist foodie Alicia Mazzara spied people in white coats on the roof of the Newseum, where unconfirmed reports place today’s Top Chef taping. She passes along this photo as evidence, and she and others saw several passenger vans and rental trucks parked outside the Newseum. What do you bet Wolfgang Puck is serving as a guest judge?
One event that is not a rumor: Top Chef D.C. will be feeding the interns, according to a DCist tipster. On Tuesday, April 12, Top Chef will tape a lunch-time episode in which the cheftestants will feed interns from organizations like the Center for American Progress. (Location undisclosed.) As Matthew Yglesias notes, unpaid internships (unlike those at CAP) are the rock upon which the federal city is built, so it seems just that someone is giving interns something to eat.
A taping event at the Newseum and another for interns bring to mind a recent debate over at the Internet Food Association (of which I am an Associate). How D.C. is Top Chef D.C.? No doubt we will see an episode at one of José Andrés’s establishments and some challenge featuring produce from the White House farmers market. Do you imagine that Tom Colicchio and company will slice into the deeply delicious pie that is life in D.C., or will they settle for the crumbs of the federal crust?
