The premiere of Top Chef’s tenth season airs TONIGHT on Bravo at 9PM. Dallas has three (out of 21) contestants on the show: Danyele McPherson (The Grape), John Tesar (Spoon), and Joshua Valentine (FT 33).
I asked all three chefs to send me photos of their refrigerators and answer a questionnaire about their food-storing habits. Danyele McPherson filed her report on Monday. Yesterday, John “The John” Tesar took time from his busy 48/7-schedule to provide a brief look into his unique fridge. Today, one Joshua Valentine, the pastry chef at FT33 opens his fridge and shows us his stuff. Valentine drinks beer, keeps okra until it rots, and has to ask his wife for permission to buy a new lawnmower.
His refrigerator says it all. You might as well jump.
SD: What is the oldest item in your refrigerator at this moment?
JV: The fresh okra I threw out before this picture.
SD: What ingredient do you always have to have in your home refrigerator?
JV: Beer!
SD: How old is your home refrigerator?
JV: Less than a year. We just moved to Zang Triangle in Bishop Arts a month ago.
SD: Is there an ingredient you always buy and never use?
JV: Nope. Obviously my fridge is scarce.
SD: What does your home refrigerator say about your personality?
JV: I’m busy! Working 100 hours a week at a busy new restaurant doesn’t allow much time for cooking at home.
SD: If you win Top Chef, will you buy a new refrigerator, lawn mower, or boat? If none of these, then name your first acquisition.
JV: You’d probably have to ask my wife. I pretty much do what she tells me.
SD: How about your freezer? What do you have hidden in there?
JV: Only ice. I don’t use frozen foods.
SD: What kind of beer are we likely to find in your home fridge?
JV: I always try and stick with local brews. Being new to Texas it’s always Shinerbock!
SD: How about wine? What is your go-to white wine?
JV: I usually only drink wine when I’m out to dinner. My everyday drink is a Blanton’s bourbon on the rocks. But I do like Rosés though.
SD: What items rot most frequently in your home fridge?
JV: Fresh veggies that I don’t always get to. I have intentions of cooking but never get around to it.
