Top Chef Kicks Off 21-City Tour
Nikki Cascone and Hosea Rosenberg
American Idol and Dancing with the Stars aren't the only shows that love to hit the road during the off-season. Top Chef just kicked off its second nationwide tour — aboard a spanking-new 18-wheeler specially fitted with power, water and state-of-the-art kitchen.
The 21-city journey began Friday in New York City, featuring on-site demonstrations and tastings hosted by Season 5 winner Hosea Rosenberg and Season 4 cheftestant Nikki Cascone — and a merch table that offered "I Heart Fabio" and "I Have a Culinary Boner" T-shirts.
While the chefs whipped up curry shrimp with jasmine rice (it was delectable!), Hosea dished on his experience on the show. A proud member of the Bacon of the Month Club, he had nightmares for more than two months after filming. "I'd wake up and be like, "Ah! Where's the chicken?!'" said the Top Chef.
Nikki, on the other hand, revealed the secrets of the Stew Room. "There was a lot of alcohol, filming and stress," she said. Things got so crazy they blew up garbage bags — from the Glad family of products — and wrapped them around a fellow contestant to create "Glad Man."
So what's shakin' with the two culinary gurus these days?
"I'm getting married May of next year, and Christian Siriano of Project Runway designed my dress, so it will be one of a kind." Nikki told TVGuide.com. "And I'm about to launch my clothing line. I have trouble finding chef coats that fit me, so I decided to do a different line."
Hosea, who recently told us he had plans to open his own restaurant, announced he is tabling the idea for now. "We had some things in the works, but I realized that once the show aired, there were so many more opportunities," he said. "I will open a restaurant, but probably not until the end of the year. I want to do food festivals and events like this first."
And for those of you curious if Hosea and Leah will be reunited (and it feels so good) during the tour's NYC stop, the answer is yes. "We're going to meet up," said Hosea. "We're both single now and allowed to go on a dinner date."
