We are speaking on hallowed ground.
I’m at a table on an elevated platform at the James Beard House, the New York City landmark that is considered sacred in the world of food and culinary arts: the West Village house where the renowned chef, now the namesake of cooking’s most prestigious awards, once lived and is now a venue for posh dinners prepared by the best chefs in the world.
The judges of Top Chef are with me—Kristen Kish, Gail Simmons, and Tom Colicchio—as is the spirit of James Beard himself. We joke that we’re in some cozy, secluded mafia corner on this platform. But the real lore is that this was Beard’s bedroom, and he would sleep there with his feet sticking out the window. That’s how neighbors and visitors knew he was home.
So it’s near the feet of one of the most celebrated chefs in the world that the four of us are celebrating. Later that night, we’ll be eating the dinner prepared by Tristen Epps-Long, the winner of Season 22 of Top Chef, whose prize package included the opportunity to prepare a meal at the James Beard House. It is also just days before the March 9 premiere of Season 23 of the show, which was filmed in the Carolinas.