Blackbird. Orange. La Tache. Trio Atelier. Cru. Stone Lotus. Deleece. Sola.
Chicago chef Dale Levitski, 34, has worked at 'em all.
But tonight, he faces his biggest culinary challenge yet as a contestant on the new season of Bravo's knock-down, drag-out cookoff, Top Chef, which fires up at 9 p.m. Wednesday. One of Bravo's top-rated reality series, "Top Chef" recruited chefs with more experience this season before shipping them off to Miami.
How long does Levitski last? He's not saying. After all, the season finale has yet to be filmed.
But during a phone interview last week, Levitski did give Metromix the inside scoop on the competition, a few past contestants, his upcoming projects and those awful chef haircuts.
What's the hardest part of Top Chef?I can't really explain: Cooking in a restaurant and being in the weeds on your line, that's one thing. That's hard. [But] you take it for granted when you're sitting on the couch watching it and yelling at the TV, calling people an idiot. But you have no idea how hard it really is.
How did your preconceptions of what you saw on TV compare to actually doing it?I had no idea how hard that was going to be!
What do you think you brought to the audition that got the producers' attention?They're looking for very unique and competitive people, and that's definitely who I am.
Did you have a certain way that you wanted to be portrayed on the show?The one thing you have to keep in mind is be yourself. If you want to play a character then play a character. I wanted to cook and be myself and have as much fun as I possibly could, and learn as much as I possibly could and have a once in a lifetime experience. If the public loves me or hates me, it doesn't matter. I had an amazing experience.
You've been sort of public with being an openly gay chef. Why?Being a gay chef, there's a preconceived notion of being the big, snappy queen and that's what I've fought against my entire cooking career. I've been cooking for 15 years now and that's the last thing I am in the kitchen.
But do you feel you have to prove yourself more?Definitely. I've walked into kitchens feeling a little under the gun, thinking about what other people are going to think about me being gay, and you definitely have a little bit of insecurity about it. I don't want to say I've overcompensated, but I've become a better chef because of it. It's like, "Fine, I will be just as good as you. I will prove to you that it doesn't matter. I'm not going to be that little sissy you might think I am. I'm going to be better than you." And it's worked out for the best.
Last week, you sampled previous contestants' dishes. Who had better food: Marcel or Ilan? And who had worse hair?I would probably have to answer I didn't like either of their dishes and I didn't like either of their hair.
What is it with you chefs and haircuts? You're rockin' a faux hawk these days.I don't know. My mohawk, I mean I've been shaving my head for years and I grew my hair back and think it was my I-just-got-dumped-I'm-going-to-go-to-L.A.-and-have-fun haircut. And first it was faux hawk then it became of full-on mohawk, and I got a great response .I get teased for it every day, but I think it's hilarious.
You've worked everywhere in this town, do you think one place prepared you more than another place?Absolutely. My first job in Chicago was working for Carol Wallack while she was at Deleece. She was basically like my big sister, and I've known her for almost 10 years now, and I think in cooking I always fall back on what she taught me. I was working Garde Manager at Deleece, I was making a salad and it looked like crap, and she stopped and she looked at me and she said, "Give that plate integrity!" That was years ago and I will never forget her saying that.
Is there a difference between cooking in Miami and cooking in Chicago?Absolutely, whatever region you're in, the style of cooking is going to be different. Being the first Midwesterner and the first Chicagoan on the show, two people from New York won the first two seasons, [so] having a more Chicago style coming in, I had a lot of pressure to represent why we are the hottest food city in the country and why we are different.
Were the other Top Chef contestants curious about Chicago cuisine?Yeah, everyone was like Grant Achatz, Grant Achatz, Grant Achatz. And having the connection through Trio, I just had to reiterate--and no insult to Grant--but there's a lot more to Chicago food than Grant Achatz. Even thought the molecular gastronomy stuff that's going on here gets Chicago press--[and] I'm grateful for all the press--but the food here is so well-rounded. When I said I was from Trio, they were like, "Oh, you worked with Grant?" No, I didn't.
You didn't?Right before grant left Trio, I did a three-day stage, just to learn some stuff and see what's new. I probably felt more pressure there than going into to the Top Chef kitchen.
How has Top Chef changed you?It's kind of strange. I'm still sorting through that. Now that the show's about to air, I don't really know how it's going to change me, seeing the social perception of what happens. [I]t's definitely humbled me. It's made me a more focused chef, and it's given me a better understanding of me as a person. And being with other chefs around the country--we all know who we are and where we stand in Chicago--but having people from California and Miami and New York and Miami and Las Vegas and Texas, you don't really know where you stand [with them]. And, really, everyone I met, we had a great, great time together, and I've made some fantastic new friends.
Tell me about the new restaurant you're working on.I'm working with Jason Chan and we joined forces with Brian Eldridge, who is actually a carpenter that does a lot of restaurant work, and Steve Lewis and Chris Sheffield, who are designers from New York, who just won a whole bunch of awards. I met Lewis and Sheffield when I was consulting at Stone Lotus. So we've become this little dream team where we each have a specific role in the restaurant.
When will you open?Hopefully, we're going to start building sometime in August--when the contracts are done. I can't give a tentative date, but we're shooting for November or December, but in restaurants you can always say OK, February. Right now, until my restaurant opens, I'm working with Carol at her new restaurant, Sola. I'm working front of the house. I'm sort of a jack of all trades. I wait tables, I bartend and [I'm] really just preparing myself for ownership and kind of following Carol because I respect and love her so much. I'm kind of there doing my own internship, and learning as much as I can about owning a restaurant, and she's the chef-owner so that's the research that I'm doing
What are you learning? I think a lot of chefs fall short of really understanding and having a personal relationship with your clientele. Know who you are serving and why and what they're looking for. And there are so many egomaniacal chefs that are, "Here's my food, eat it. And you'll love it." That's really not my goal. I want to cook this for you and make you happy, and if it doesn't I'm going to change, I'm going to adapt. A lot of chefs are not humble enough to do it.
How do you think your Top Chef appearance will impact the new restaurant?I think it will do amazing things, because the people who watch Top Chef are exactly the market I'm going for. It's everybody. We're not going to do crazy fine dining or anything like that. We're going to do breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night. We're going to try to reach everyone. That's who watches the show. That's my audience.
[ Chris LaMorte is the metromix dining producer. ]
