'Top Chef' Walking Tour Debuts in New York City

by Nicki Gostin, Posted Feb 8th 2010 @ 4:45PM

With 'Sex and the City' and 'Gossip Girl' tours already underway in New York City, it only seemed inevitable that some enterprising foodie would concoct a 'Top Chef' walking tour.

Because the popular cooking show is filmed in a different city every season, this tour focuses on season five -- which was filmed in Manhattan. The tours are conducted by professional chefs who offer culinary tips and fun quizzes while schlepping around the Big Apple.

Places visited on the tour include DiPalo's Fine Food in Little Italy, an old school store that sells homemade mozzarella and scrumptious soppressata, Wichcraft, a restaurant owned by Tom Colicchio, the head judge of the reality TV series and 24 Prince, a Soho bistro co-owned by Nikki Cascone who was actually a contestant on the show. Whenever she is available, Cascone drops by to chat to the tour group about what it was like being a reality television show contestant. (According to A.P. she yaks about being evaluated by mental-health professionals. We guess that Bravo isn't keen on having sociopaths in close proximity to sharpened knives).

"I got the idea for the tour knowing about the Bravo TV reality show and knowing that there are other TV themed tours in NYC," Joyce Weinberg told Slashfood, President of City Food Tours. "We'd been doing some of the best tasting tours in New York for years, and I knew that with our professional chef guides that we were the ones who could develop a fun, interactive, unique tour. The tour is for everyone who likes cooking, food and hearing about what it's like to be a professional chef. And it's also for people who love the show and who like to have fun".

The "In the Steps of a Top Chef" tour costs $44.95 and is scheduled on Fridays and Saturdays at 11 am. The three-hour excursion is also available for private groups.

Filed Under: Television/Film, Chefs
Tags: city food tours, tom colicchio, top chef, top chef city food tours, top chef walking tour