Milwaukee rolls out red carpet for 'Top Chef' season based in Wisconsin

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee's lakefront was at the center of the culinary world Wednesday, March 20, as Discovery World hosted a screening party for the season 21 premiere of 'Top Chef,' a popular cooking competition show.

The red-carpet event celebrated the show's hosts, judges and competitors. That included Dan Jacobs, the chef and co-owner of Milwaukee's DanDan and EsterEv restaurants. He was the lone local competitor in this season of the show, which was based in Milwaukee and Madison.

"It is such a big deal," Jacobs said of Wisconsin hosting 'Top Chef.' "Like, all the other culinary shows don't mean much as much as this one does. They just don't."

Jacobs said he took a special pride in essentially being the Milwaukee ambassador for his fellow competitors and the show's staff.

"I'm so happy to be here and call this place my home," Jacobs said. "And to be able to show it off on a national platform, it's just amazing. I feel so grateful."

Jacobs declined to share how he fared in the competition, nor did he want to discuss which Wisconsin elements of the season stood out the most, saying he didn't want to give out any spoilers.

This season of the show is the first for new host, Kristen Kish, who won season 10. Kish said she agreed with Jacobs' assessment that no other culinary competition compares to 'Top Chef.'

Kish added she much preferred being in the position of judging the contestants' dishes, as opposed to receiving the criticism judges often serve up on the show.

"I know what it feels like when that first went out there and how excited I was for the world to start watching it," she said. "I'm so excited for all the chefs."

Kish, a Michigan native, said she enjoyed returning to the Midwest, especially since the season was recorded during the late summer and early fall months.

She said the most unique Wisconsin experience she had was fish boils, which are most commonly associated with Door County. Beyond that, she described sampling a number of restaurants and savoring many Wisconsin basics.

"I ate my weight in custard, cheese curds," Kish said. "I went to Culver's more than once."

Both Kish and one of the show's judges, Gail Simmons, first mentioned the Serbian restaurant, Three Brothers, when asked to list their favorite dishes. Simmons added Madison had the best farmers market she'd ever seen.

As for the state's natural culinary offerings, Simmons said Wisconsin lent plenty of great options for different competitions.

"Everything from the corn to the tomatoes, cranberries, cherries, you name it," Simmons said.

The show's executive producer, Doneen Arquines, said some of the foods most closely associated with Wisconsin will play a role throughout the season.

"I don't think that was hard at all [to tie Wisconsin foods into the competition.] I think there's a lot of really great produce here," she said. "Produce, cheese, beer, there's all kinds of things that lend themselves really well to a culinary show."

Wisconsin's tourism secretary, Anne Sayers, insisted the show's presence would drive a decent amount of traffic to the state as fans visit to check out some of the featured spots.

"We actually know that there is such a thing as the 'Top Chef' effect. Other cities and states that have hosted the show have experienced it," Sayers said. "For years to come, people will travel just to eat in that state or just at that one restaurant."

Sayers added Travel Wisconsin, for the first time ever, bought a national television ad. It ran for the first-time during Wednesday's premiere episode and will run again in each of the season's remaining episodes.