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Though I’m a much bigger fan of the Japanese original (that’s a wiki link), Iron Chef America isn’t half bad.  Hosted by Atlanta’s own Alton Brown on the Food Network, the competition show features a number of great cooks (remember the Richard Blais episode?).

Now, a couple of Iron Chef’s (Mario Batali & Bobby Flay), will join Emeril Lagasse in a Super Chef Battle at the White House.  I must admit, it saddened me to hear that Atlanta’s White House Restaurant was not the hosting location.  Instead, the trio will take a trip to our nation’s capital to challenge White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford and first lady Michelle Obama.

The episode, a two-hour special, will premier Sunday January 3rd, 2010 at 8pm.  The challenge at hand?  Create a meal for America using the White House Kitchen’s local produce as the secret ingredient.  Talk about taking Farm to Table to the next level?  I’ll be watching!

[via prince of petworth]

This just in … chef Richard Blais just announced via his twitter feed that Flip Burger Boutique, the ever popular fusion burger joint, is finally expanding after months of rumors and postulations.  The next location supposedly hits on December 14th in Birmingham.  Last time Richard confirmed something, it seemed to fall by the wayside.  Still, he posted a hard date here … and even if that doesn’t hold up … it does lend credence to the accuracy of the proclamation.  More to follow as details come out!

Address:1587 Howell Mill Rd NW, Atlanta, GA 30318 // 404.352-3547
Website // Menu (pdf)

Get your DVRs ready for Saturday afternoon.  Long before he graced our screen as the darling of Top Chef, Atlanta’s own Richard Blais showed up TV sets across the states on an episode of the Food Network’s Iron Chef America.  The challenge, which took place back in ‘06, featured chickpeas as the ingredient du jour and a battle of fisticuffs between Blais and the well-regarded Mario Batali.

Keen eyes will notice the One Midtown Kitchen logo across Blais’ breastplate.  At the time of filming, he was the executive chef at 1MK.  Appropriately, Blais brought his sous chef at the time, one Eli Kirshtein, along for the ride.

For those unfamiliar with the show, a challenger will enter a 1-hr cook-off against one of a stable of cook masters, appropriately named “Iron Chefs.”  The trick is that a single ingredient is used as the basis for the meal.  Though I much prefer the Japanese version, complete with kitschy voice dubbings, the US version comes with Alton Brown’s quick witted commentary.  I won’t spoil it for those of you who haven’t seen it yet.

And speaking of Blais, you’ll be able to get your fill of him on Saturday.  In what is probably a coincidence, Richard and his funktastic hairdo will be on the main stage of Taste of Atlanta 2009 from 12pm-12:45pm.  So head out in the early afternoon to see him live, then check him out on the tube just before dinner time.

Battle Chickpeas: Batali vs. Blais

Re-airs on the Food Network on Saturday October 10th, 2009.

5pm-6pm, 11pm-12am, 2am-3am (on Sunday)
Comcast channel 57 or 857 for HD

Taste of Atlanta has long been known as the premier foodie festival in the Dirty South.  After setting up shop at Atlantic Station the past couple of years, the festival has relocated to nearby Technology Square in Midtown for this year.  The corner of 5th and Spring is already blocked off, tents and other temporary fixtures now line the street, and it looks like it’s going to be one heck of an event.

With a whopping 80+ restaurants, a handful of celebrity chefs, live music, and a whole mess of activities, I’m not about to list out all the events and goings on.  However, here is the 411 on what to expect!

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I’m not sure exactly what to make of this.  However, I thought it was interesting enough that it is worth a mention.  For reasons beyond my scope, a post from January blew up yesterday.  That post talked about Richard Blais’ intentions to bring Flip Burger Boutique to our nations capital.  Roughly 200 unique visitors showed up specifically to read that little blurb.  The vast majority were searching for info on Flip in DC. 

I can’t explain that; however, it’s definitely an interesting little tidbit.  Maybe it has something to do with the premier of Top Chef, where Blais got his national following.  I’ll be curious to see what, if any, news leaks out over the next few days.

This may be the type of thing that is already passé by the time you see this.  Heck, this may be done before I finish getting this post up.  According to his facebook status, Richard Blais is going to be offering up a tasting menu somewhere in the ATL.  Scheduled for the end of August/beginning of September, it appears there will be multiple nights; but, he is limiting them to 20 heads/seating.  To get in on the goods, send a DM (that’s twitter speak for a direct message) to @RichardBlais.

I always get a kick out of reading about people “outside their context.”  Such is the case with a recent post over at the Original Retro Brand blog.  To explain, since 1998, DistantReplays.com has been a place to grab old school sports jersey’s and such.  Well-known throughout the country, I always thought it was hella cool that all this talk came out of the ATL.

In the past few months, Distant Replays has joined forces with the Original Retro Brand.  One of the byproducts of that relationship is a new blog.  So by now, all you foodies are wondering … so what?  Well, here’s what.

Recently, they blogged an interview with chef Richard Blais.  While there isn’t anything earth shattering, it’s a quick little read in which Richard talks for his love for the Gators and the Islanders.  Before he jets, Blais drops some info about his time on Top Chef and the goings-on at Flip Burger Boutique.

[Via OriginalRetroBrand]

Hope ya’ll had a pleasant weekend. I know I did.  As you might expect, the past few days have left me worn down and fried.  So, rather than pen a full review, first impression, or the like, I have decided to hit ya’ll up with some quick notes about some recent goings-on in the ATL.

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Hervé This is the man who took science and applied it to food.  The easiest way to explain him to the local folk is like this: No Hervé This means no Richard Blais.  As the father of molecular gastronomy (and thus molecular cooking), This is an important figure in the culinary world.  I really love what he does, so I have posted about him a handful of times.

Though I am not sure I would call him a chef, I have tried a number of his recipes over the years.  Every once in a blue moon, I manage to pull it off.  Most of the time, I blow it up … but hey, it’s fun to try.

Today, during my daily internet poking, I found out that This has launched his own website.  It’s a little bland on the eyes and a bit difficult to glean information from; but, it’s definitely worth a look at.  The real reason it’s hard to follow is due to the limitations of internet translation tools.  If you can deal with the idiosyncratic English, it will be well worth your time.  I suppose if you speak French, the original version (Travaux de Hervé This) would be very useful.

Richard Blais continues his metamorphosis from kitchen slinger to celebrity chef.  By now, we all know about the long waits at FLIP, his time on Top Chef, and his propensity for multi-tasking. While he has had a blog over on BravoTV.com, Richard has now gone local.  Over at Creative Loafing, Richard is making waves as a guest blogger on Omnivore.  The series is called the “Knife’s Edge” and his latest blurb is about the various celebrity food critics around town.