Oakland Chefs on National TV

photo: Tina Tamale

Oakland restaurants have been getting lots of press for a while, and now our chefs are making appearances on national TV.  There were two shows in the last few weeks and another that airs tonight:

Even though Restaurant Startup was entertaining, it also stressed me out as a viewer.  Jenna Keys and Josh Gillespie, co-owners of Sugar Knife Artisan Sweets, pitched their concept to potential investors, who gave some suggestions.  They struggled with staying true to who they are, while making changes based on the recommendations.  You’ll have to watch the episode because I’m not going to tell you what happened.  But I will say that I’m so proud of them.  Go Sugar Knife!

Food Rush and Chef Ryan Scott came to explore “a city with a thriving, diverse restaurant scene.”  Several of our restaurants were featured, including  510 Burger Truck, Tina Tamale, Fist of Flour, Souley Vegan and The Cook and Her Farmer.  It felt good to watch because the sun was shining, Oakland was especially beautiful that day and all the chefs were looking relaxed and confident.

Chef Kyle Itani of Hopscotch will be on Knife Fight on Tuesday, 8/19 at 10pm.  I’ve never seen the show, but I guess it’s a cooking battle.  Apparently, Chef Kyle snuck in a few of his favorite Japanese ingredients in his suitcase, and one of the dishes from the show will be on the menu all month at his Uptown restaurant.  Can’t wait to watch.

So why do you think Oakland chefs are getting so much attention right now?  And who do you think will be the next chef on TV?

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Christina Mitchell

Christina is the founder of East Bay Dish. Her writing has also been featured in East Bay Express, Berkeleyside, Oakland Magazine and Edible East Bay.

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