One of the contestants looked so familiar, not in the sense of someone that I knew, but someone I had seen cooking before. I realized who it was almost immediately - Erik Hopfinger, executive chef at the San Francisco restaurant Circa in the Marina. Last year, my friend Lise & her husband Douglas took me to a "Battle of the Chefs" competition at Macy's, with Hopfinger pitted against Brick chef Noah Tucker (I was in the Tucker camp).
So this will be interesting - a chef from my current city of residence competing in my hometown. I can't say that I liked Erik when I saw him - he seemed overly confident and staid in his ingredient choices. Top Chef judges have the ability to make the most assured chef tremble in fear - we'll see how Mr. Hopfinger fares.
There are an additional three contestants hailing from our city by the Bay this season, incuding executive chefs from Myth Cafe and Coco500. San Francisco represent!!
(P.S. Erik Hopfinger lost the Macy's challenge, despite his large and obnoxious posse in attendance - here are some pictures from that event):
