Boston mayor Thomas Menino has taken to the Twitters to alert citizens of the biggest issue our fair city faces: that Boston should host the next season of Top Chef.
Since last week, Menino has tweeted several times using the hashtag #yougottatryboston, a Twitter-based campaign to convince Top Chef‘s producers to bring the show’s upcoming tenth season to The Hub.
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Though Bravo and Magical Elves (the production company behind Top Chef) have yet to comment on the matter, Sam Adams (the beer company, not the person) have reportedly been asked to come on as a sponsor for the show’s upcoming season. This seems to be a promising sign for those hoping to bring Top Chef to Boston, as the Sam Adams brewery is one of the cities most iconic culinary destinations.
But does Boston have enough culinary heft to host an entire season of Top Chef?
Top Chef is a show that takes its locations seriously. Since its first season in San Francisco, the cheftestants have taken camp in Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Las Vegas, D.C., and New York twice. While these cities are obvious choices for foodies, the producers may be grasping for new ideas. The current season has the chefs being shuttled around three separate cities in Texas, as apparently each one was incapable of handling an entire season.
Boston has been home to some major cheftestants of seasons past. Tiffani Faison (season 1 runner-up, all-stars contestant) currently owns Sweet Cheeks Q near Fenway, very close to BU’s campus, and Jody Adams of Rialto in Cambridge made quite a showing on Top Chef Masters season 2. However, besides those two notables, no other Boston contestant has made a lasting impression on the Top Chef stage.
While Boston may not have bred so many cheftestants, it has come up recently with several notable restaurants. Barabara Lynch’s Menton and Tim Cushman’s O Ya have earned fine-dining accolades from outlets throughout the country (a five-star Forbes travel rating and James Beard nomination, respectively). On the lower end of the culinary scale, Boston is well-known for some food innovations—not every city can lay claim to both clam chowder and baked beans.
However, Boston is too small to offer new ideas for as many as 16 episodes across the season. Top Chef works best when the challenges reflect the setting. (Most notably, the Chicago season incorporated Chicago-y elements into nearly every challenge.)
Of course, there are other cities waiting for Top Chef to come calling as well. Philadelphia has yet to host a season, though its restaurant scene is not as vibrant as Boston’s (and one can only make so many cheesesteak jokes). Portland is filled with thriving and original restaurants, but it’s even smaller than Boston. Then there’s Atlanta. It is the home to many former cheftestants (including All-Star champion Richard Blais), has a highly successful Real Housewives franchise, and offers barbecue, soul food, peaches, and cutting edge cuisine. At this point, the ATL is Boston’s only real competition.
But Top Chef is not slowing down any time soon. Even if Boston doesn’t get to host the new season, there will be other chances. That being said, no other city has tried a persuasion tactic like this, and Top Chef would be foolish to ignore such a push.
Boston too small to offer new ideas for 16 weeks? HULLO?
Boston, Cambridge, Cape Cod, Western Mass.
Newbury Street, Charles Street, Hanover Street, Boylston Street.
Fenway Park, TD Garden, Gillette Stadium, Sacco Bowl.
MFA, ICA, Mass Moca, Isabella Stewart Gardner.
Harvard Square, Kendall Square, the North End, Back Bay.
The BSO, The New England Conservatory, Berklee School of Music, Tanglewood.
The Shubert, The Citi Wang, the Cutler Majestic , The Paramount theaters.
The Marathon?
The Head of the Charles?
Think big. Act big. Be big.
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