Taste the culinary creations of "Top Chef" stars Harold Dieterle, Fabio Viviani, and Richard Blais as they serve their world-renowned cuisine in the newly remodeled Eagle's Nest Restaurant at Lake of the Torches Resort Casino in Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin, on select Thursdays in August.
As the casino's "executive chefs" for a day, each chef will have a specially prepared menu that will be served as both the lunch and dinner buffets in the restaurant, and the chefs will be available during the service to meet diners in the restaurant on the chef's selected "takeover" day.
First, indulge in a menu of eclectic fare by Top Chef's first winner Harold Dieterle on Thursday, August 4, 2011. A Long Island, New York, native, Harold attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and worked in a number of high-end establishments on Long Island and Manhattan before opening the critically-acclaimed Perilla restaurant in the West Village with business partner Alicia Nosenzo. In October 2010, Harold and Alicia opened their second West Village restaurant, Kin Shop, devoted to contemporary Thai cuisine.
Next, savor the award-winning classic and modern Italian cuisine of chef Fabio Viviani on Thursday, August 18, 2011. Viviani was voted "fan favorite" on season 5 of "Top Chef" and was runner up "fan favorite" during "Top Chef All Stars." Since then he has appeared on such shows as "Good Morning America," "The Today Show," and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." During two previously sold out shows in 2009 at Lake of the Torches, Viviani dazzled and charmed audience members with his wit, humor, and culinary expertise. Born and raised in Florence, Italy, Fabio is now the executive chef and owner of Café Firenze Italian Restaurant and Martini Bar in Moorpark, California, and Firneze Osteria Italian Restaurant and Bar in Toluca Lake, California. In addition, he wrote the cookbook's "Café Firenze Cookbook," "Mangia e Bevi," "Did I Really Make Breakfast," and "The Skinny Country."
The celebrity executive chef line-up concludes with an innovative and modern spin on classic cuisine with "Top Chef All-Stars" winner Richard Blais on Thursday, August 25, 2011. Blais has not only appeared on "Top Chef," but also on season three of "Iron Chef America" and on "Top Chef Masters," where he worked with renowned chef and "Top Chef Masters" winner Rick Bayless. Blais also hosted his own television series, "Blais Off," on The Science Channel. As part of the show, he used scientific cooking techniques to reinvent classic foods and take his experiments on the road to visit some of the most popular eateries in America.
"This is a unique opportunity for fine food aficionados to meet in person three of the most up-and-coming chefs in the United States and to taste their masterful delicacies," says the casino's Director of Marketing Michael J. Broderick. "We are very excited and honored to host such high-caliber chefs in our own restaurant and to offer our guests a dining experience they'll never forget and have seldom had in one place. Foodies all across the country will take note and make the trip to the Northwoods of Wisconsin this summer. It's going to be a blast!"
