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Catching Up With Top Chef's Jen Biesty

partysugar — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 07:45:29 -0800

What do you do when your 15 minutes of Top Chef fame have ended and the latest crop of cheftestants are the talk of the town? Well, you take a tip from season 4's Jen Biesty and go back to the kitchen. Not just any kitchen, but a well regarded kitchen in one of the busiest parts of town. Chef Biesty is currently the executive chef at San Francisco's Scala's Bistro. Located off of the bustling Union Square, Scala's Bistro has been catering to tourists for the past 14 years. Biesty took over the kitchen in October and recently debuted a new menu. Last week I dined at the classic San Francisco bistro. It's not a hotspot or overly trendy, but an old time San Francisco place with dusty rose lighting and a welcoming atmosphere. To find more out about the experience, read more.

When I spoke with Jen she was wonderfully polite and somewhat reserved. The powerful personality that was portrayed on Bravo's culinary competition was replaced with a quiet focus on the food. She explained that although Scala's is a bistro, the cuisine is mostly Italian with subtle French influences. Like most chefs in the city by the bay, Biesty's menu is based on seasonal, local ingredients.

While she did not comment on the current season of Top Chef, the chef, who is no longer romantically involved with fellow TC 4 contestant Zoi, mentioned that she's reading "a cookbook about culinary gastronomy by that famous French guy."

When my sister proudly told Biesty that her food "inspired her to be a better chef," Biesty modestly nodded, said a courteous "thanks," and turned to resume her post in the kitchen. It was clear that Biesty wanted the food to do the talking - proving that she's ready to shed her image as reality TV competitor and assume her rightful role as respected chef.

Wondering what Chef Biesty's food is like? Click on one of the images below to find out more about her unique, delicious dishes.

View 16 Photos ›

What Does Jen Biesty Have to Say About Top Chef?

YumSugar — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 06:28:31 -0700

This week we bid farewell to the final San Francisco-based Top Chef candidate, and while it was a bit of a shock - many of you thought Jen's recent departure from Top Chef was a bit untimely - it was definitely a fun episode. The stakes are high, and there's no room for error. Yesterday I got to sit down and chat with Jen Biesty and found out what she thought of her elimination, her fellow contestants, and her new upcoming restaurant. To see what she had to say, read more.

YumSugar: We've been rooting for you this season and were bummed to see you go. So tell us, how was your experience there? Other than having to leave, is there anything you'd do differently?
Jennifer Biesty: I kinda wish, okay, this is going to sound totally vain, but I wish I didn't wear my glasses.

YS: Really? I liked your glasses.
JB: Thanks.

YS: Well, what was it like watching yourself on TV?
JB: It was fun you know. You tend to criticize yourself a lot. I think I was okay with it. It's really more about the response from other people. My friends said I looked good on camera, and I think the camera likes me. I felt okay, but you do over criticize, like I hate that angle sort of thing. But I wouldn't mind seeing myself on TV more.

YS: Are you looking into doing another show?
JB: It's something in the back of my head. I think it would be fun. If I had a cooking show, or something local it would be fun. My personality would be more like in the Jamie Oliver realm, goofy but interesting and fun to watch. Whereas Food Network is a bit stale right now, although it's getting better with other kinds of shows. I think it would be fun to do something someday.

YS: At the end of last night's episode you said, "I really don't think there was any reason for me to be sent home." If that's the case, then who do you think should have been sent home?
JB: Out of the two teams on the chopping block, one of the other team's members should have gone home. I was completely shocked. I thought the judges would have sent home Lisa. I only say this because I know that, in my head, they probably really like Antonia, and since their dish didn't represent what their comedy skit was . . .

YS: Why do you say this about Antonia?
JB: In my opinion, I thought the producers really liked Antonia. And well, Lisa had a bit of a bad attitude. I mean I don't have anything against anyone on the show. I just thought if anyone was going home, it wasn't going to be me.

YS: What were you thinking during judge's panel?
JB: I was confident. I was totally shocked. Steph was more nervous than I was. She said she'd been on the block a few times and that she was going home. I told her no way, we had big flavors and represented what we were supposed to do and they didn't. Chilean Sea Bass? Come on.

YS: So, what was it like being there after Zoi left?
JB: In a way, it was, [pause] I was really upset about it obviously, because I'm so proud of her and she's such a great chef and natural talent. But you know it's a competition. I said I was doing this for Zoi, and that was clipped in there. I really wanted to get down to the final three and show my stuff. I just took it on as a competition that I was going to win and I didn't. I just kept my game on.

YS: How long were you there without her?
JB: Well there was Zoi, then Ryan and me. About a week. They really kicked off the SF folks.

YS: Our office has been joking about an SF-ousting conspiracy, and that's why they wanted you out.
JB: Well you know, I wonder since they placed this lesbian couple on the show, and with Zoi gone, maybe I wasn't needed? [Laughs]

YS: Did the producers interact with you guys much?
JB: No, only when they had to read the rules to things. But no, not really, they definitely kept their distance.

YS: Have you kept in touch with the other chefs?
JB: Dinner from Ryan, Erik, Zoi and I was recently auctioned off at Taste of the Nation. We raised over $24,000. But we're not really supposed to see each other. Though through the internet, and myspace and all that, I've kept in touch with the other chefs.

YS: You can see Zoi though, right? Are you two still together?
JB: Yeah, we're still together and we can see each other. You're not supposed to discuss what was shown on the show, although I'm sure other folks talk to their wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, but you're not supposed to.

If I didn't have Zoi, it would be really hard to explain what it's really like. She was there, she knows. It's like when someone goes to Iraq, they can't explain what it was like. Okay, that's really overdramatic, but you know what I mean. I feel for us, we have the ability to process the whole thing with each other.

YS: So who are you rooting for right now?
JB: I want one of the girls to win. Of course, and I dunno, Dale and I pretty much bonded, so I want the best for him. Antonia and Steph, I got along really well with those two and they're both really talented I want a girl to win, and one of those two girls would be great.

YS: In your exit interview on Bravo's website, you mention a new restaurant concept. Could you expand on that at all?
JB: Scott, who's the bartender at Coco 500, and I are working on a project together, and it might happen really soon. I'm leaving Coco at the end of May. And the new project will be sort of a Cesar style place, tapas style with a casual atmosphere and great mixology. We have a location here in San Francisco that might work out soon. If that doesn't, then we'll have to wait.

YS: Do you have a name for the place yet?
JB: [Laughs] We're kind of both opinionated. I have an idea and he has one. We're hoping to figure it all out soon. It should be soon, within a few months.

Photos courtesy of Bravo

Talking Top Chef With Jennifer Biesty

YumSugar — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 14:28:31 -0700

This year Top Chef threw a new twist at us. For the first time there's a couple participating on the show. Will they have an advantage? Will they mess with others heads? And will they still be together when it's all over?

Recently we had a chance to talk with Jennifer Biesty, one half of the dynamic duo and executive chef at the popular Coco500 in San Francisco. To find out what she had to say about her experience on Top Chef, as well as what's next for her, read more.

YumSugar: Why'd you decide to audition?
Jennifer Biesty: There's nothing really else out there quite like Top Chef. It's kind of a cross between culinary olympics and - I found this out later - a little bit Survivor, Real World. The part that made me interested was the chance to compete and be acknowledged against your peers.

YS: What was the audition process like?
JB: A bunch of us, five of my friends, went down on a whim. They ended casting calls at 4 p.m., I got there at 3:30. I was surprised to see how many people were there and who was there, a lot of chefs from the city. You lined up and you waited to get into the room. You brought your résumé and head shot, and they asked you a bunch of questions. It was way more on the Hollywood side, I knew I had to look a certain way.

YS: Was the experience what you were expecting?
JB: As far as the challenges go, yes it was. The whole situation is pretty stressful. Not knowing what you were walking into every day, I definitely expected that. But the level of difficulty . . .

YS: Did you feel like you and Zoi [her girlfriend and fellow contestant] had an advantage?
JB: Yeah, in a way. Everyone else is like, I miss my girlfriend, my son, daughter, dog. We just missed our dog.

Being able to be together was great. It was distracting as well. But it was an advantage to be able to talk to your partner, your best friend, and support.

YS: How was it competing against her?
JB: It was difficult. It's kind of a touchy subject. It was a lot of fun at times, especially in the beginning. We're both confident and really capable chefs. We just looked at the other competition and said we can crush these guys. We used the advantage of being a distraction.

YS: Were you concerned about what the other contestants would think?
JB: We were concerned at first, but once we met everyone we weren't. We thought there would be one antagonist or possibly some homophobia, but we ended up not facing any of that.

YS: Are you worried about how you're going to be portrayed?
JB: A little bit, not too much. Of course you can't help but think back and wonder if they're going to show this scene, or that scene. But no, I'm not really that concerned, more curious.

YS: This year you guys could each bring $200 worth of your own things. What did you bring?
JB: That was interesting. They tell you that, but you don't know how you'll be able to use these things. I thought maybe it would be a challenge, so I tried to get things that would work well together if they had to. I brought great local olive oil, good barrel-aged Italian vinegar. Oh and I brought my own spice rub, with wild fennel that I collected from Marin. Just the kind of stuff that you could build a base with, you know?

YS: So what's next for you?
JB: I'm still at Coco500, but I was working on something before the show. Working on my own project. I don't know if I'm going to be leaving, maybe after the Summer/early Fall. Being on the show will be able to get me to move quicker on it, maybe find investors. Zoi and I have talked about opening a place in Sonoma, but that might be a few years out.

Also, I'm really open. I really enjoyed the whole media side of it. I found it really intriguing. I would definitely be interested in doing that. If Toyota wants me to do a commercial, I'll do that, too!

Photos courtesy of Bravo