Michele Stueven
Chef Bernhard Mairinger served a taste of the U.K. on Tuesday at the home of His Majesty’s Consul General, Emily Cloke, in celebration of the newest installation of Top Chef. The show premieres on Bravo, Thursday, March 9, and will be the first season filmed outside of the U.S. with episodes including a picnic at Hampshire’s Highclere Castle, best known as Downton Abbey.
Mairinger, who will be opening his “Lustig” restaurant featuring fun twists on international favorites in Culver City’s Helms bakery district this summer, provided tastings that included Welsh Dunbia lamb – now being exported to the U.S. again after more than 20 years. Move over Aussie lamb, there’s about to be a British invasion.
Chef Bernhard Mairinger (Michele Stueven)
There were tender lamb rack lollipops, juicy meatballs and shoulder sliders as well as herb-cured Scottish salmon, pan-seared English Dover sole, crispy seared Scottish trout and Coombe Castle English Stilton cheese served on fruit bread crostini with apricot-ginger chutney.
Also on hand to savor some warm sticky toffee pudding was one of last season’s Top Chef contenders, Jackson Kalb from Ospi Venice and his wife Melissa.
Sixteen Top Chef winners and finalists representing 11 different competitions from around the world convene in London to compete in the intense culinary showdown. Finalists from Germany, Poland, Mexico and other countries will be challenged once again by host Padma Lakshmi, head judge Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons in this 20th season of the award-winning series.