August 19, 2009 — Five National Restaurant Association members are competing on the latest season of Bravo’s “Top Chef” series.

The show, which airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET, features 17 “cheftestants” who will compete in cooking challenges for the “Top Chef” title. This season will take place in Las Vegas, home to some of the biggest names in the restaurant industry.

The NRA members competing are Eve Aronoff, chef/owner, Eve, Ann Arbor, Mich.; Ash Fulk, Trestle on Tenth; New York City; Kevin Gillespie, chef/owner, Woodfire Grill, Atlanta; Michael Isabella, executive chef, Zaytinya, Washington, D.C.; Bryan Voltaggio, chef/partner, Volt, Frederick, Md.

Will one of the Association members take home the title? We hope so. Meet the cheftestants we’ll be rooting for:

Eve Aronoff
Aronoff started cooking for spending money during a summer break from Brandeis University but ended up falling in love with it. “I went to school to get a well-rounded education but found that cooking was just as multi-faceted," she said. "There’s a physical side, an emotional side. I just loved that.”

So she decided to leave her literature degree behind to pursue a degree at the Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. While attending Le Cordon Bleu, Aronoff found inspiration outside the classroom. “I would visit the North African markets and go to Moroccan restaurants," she said.

The flavors had a huge impact on her, and her menus and cookbook show a fondness for the bold, exotic flavors.

In addition to running her restaurant and writing a cookbook, Aronoff was invited to show off her style by cooking a five-course meal at the James Beard Foundation House in New York -- an honor in the culinary world. She also was a delegate to Terre Madre, an international slow food meeting in Italy.

Her accomplishments caught the attention of the "Top Chef" producers, who invited her to apply to appear on the new season. “It presented a great opportunity to interact with other chefs,” she says.

Aronoff believes in keeping things simple. “I take food seriously, but not so seriously that it’s not enjoyable.”

Ash Fulk
Fulk Ash Fulk used persistence to break into the restaurant industry. Needing money, Faulk applied for a line cook position at a restaurant and agreed to demonstrate his skill level to the head chef.

His first task: dicing an onion. The task took an hour, and the chef told him he wasn't qualified for the position. Fulk persisted and returned to the restaurant everyday until the chef offered him a job.

Since then, Fulk has worked in kitchens in California and New York, building his culinary knowledge along the way. He eventually landed his current post as sous chef at Trestle on Tenth in New York City. “It’s a Swiss brasserie, basically whatever Chef [Ralf Kuettel] come up with. It has chef’s influence but also my West Coast influence on it.”

Fulk considers each chef he's worked for to be a mentor. “You can’t help but stand on the shoulders of the chef you work for,” he says. “Everyday I apply something that a chef taught me.”

The interview for Top Chef came as a dare after a night out with friends. “We were at a bar and the topic of Top Chef came up. My friends were saying ‘you’ll never do it; [you're] too much of a wuss.” The next day, when one of the friends showed up at his restaurant with a video camera, ready to film his audition tape, Fulk agreed.

Kevin Gillespie
Gillespie is used to competition. As a high school student, he received a scholarship to attend culinary school after winning the Art Institute of Atlanta’s Young Teen Chef Contest.

Fascinated by cooking at an early age, Gillespie preferred to watch cooking shows than cartoons when he was a child. Later, he decided he “couldn’t fathom doing anything else” for the rest of his life.

Since then, he has focused on becoming great, even if that means trying something he’s not familiar with. “One chef told me I should leave his restaurant and work somewhere I could learn more,” he says. “If I wanted to be great, I needed to work for people who were great.”

His advice: Never be afraid to leave your comfort zone if that means you’ll come out a better person and chef. “Don’t be afraid to voice your opinion,” he adds.

That’s why he says he thinks he’s an ideal Top Chef contestant. “Top Chef seems to look for people who are charismatic and have strong opinions but aren’t afraid to share them. That did well for me in my life and on the show.”

So, don’t be surprised if he ruffles a few feathers on Top Chef this season. “For the most part I say nice things, but I might say something that someone doesn’t want to hear,” he says.

Michael Isabella
Michael Isabella wants to be the Jose Andres of Greek and Mediterranean cuisine.

Andres is credited with putting Spanish food on the culinary map in America, and Isabella wants to do the same thing for Greek and Mediterranean food. It’s also why he tried out for “Top Chef."

Isabella noticed previous “Top Chef” seasons didn’t feature that style of food. So he thought he might have an edge over this season’s competition and be able to give Greek and Mediterranean cuisine the recognition and respect he says it deserves.

“The No. 1 reason why I went on ['Top Chef'] was to get this cuisine out there,” he says. Unlike France, which is "all about food," Greece has more mom and pop eateries than Michelin-rated restaurants. And because there are few cooking schools, "No one is really veering off and coming to the states to cook upscale Greek food.”

Isabella built his culinary repertoire by cooking in kitchens along the East Coast. Starting in New York City, he moved to Philadelphia, working at Alma de Cuba, a modern-Cuban restaurant, and El Vez, cooking Mexican food and working with Jose Garces, a James Beard award-winning chef.

Isabella also worked at Kyma, a fine-dining Greek restaurant in Atlanta, where he says he improved his cooking techniques under Chef Pano Karatassos.

Then Isabella received what he calls the biggest opportunity of his life. Andres offered him the position as executive chef at Zaytinya, where he has the freedom to create innovative Greek, Turkish and Lebanese food.

There, he passes to his staff the lessons in hospitality he learned in Atlanta and from his Greek/Italian heritage: to provide great food, guest experience and service.

Bryan Voltaggio
The same day Bryan Voltaggio left his hometown, Frederick, Md., to pursue a degree at the Culinary Institute of America, his brother Michael was leaving to start an apprenticeship at The Greenbriar Hotel in West Virginia. Since then, the brothers received accolades as they built their careers under well-known chefs, but they rarely had a chance to work together.

They’ll have plenty of opportunity this season in the “Top Chef” kitchen. Bryan Voltaggio, who owns a modern American restaurant in his hometown, and Michael Voltaggio, chef de cuisine at The Dining Room at Langham Huntington Hotel & Spa, Los Angeles, are the first pair of brothers on the show.

For Bryan, Michael is just another competitor. “I’m competing against sixteen people, not just my brother. It makes it more exciting, fun and difficult.”

Competition between the two is not new; growing up, the brothers were “always trying to one up each other with tricks,” especially in skateboarding. The kitchen will be no different as they try to “one up” each other to impress the judges.

Bryan Voltaggio’s love for food was fostered by his mother, who made sure the family had meals together, and his grandfather, who cooked often at home. Another person who plays an important part in Bryan Voltaggio’s culinary development is Chef Charlie Palmer. Voltaggio worked with Palmer for 10 years, first as sous chef at Aureole in New York City, then as executive chef at Charlie Palmer Steak House in Washington, D.C.

Bryan’s mentors are not the only reason why he says he’s the brother more likely to win, he says. “My palate is better than [Michael’s].”

By Korsha Wilson

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