Top Chef Finale
2009 December 9
I noticed yesterday that there’s a big tent going up next to Volt for a party during tonight’s Top Chef Finale. 
I hear that there is a “VIP Reception” starting at 7:30 PM (invite only and sadly our invite must still be in the mail) and the tent is open to the public at 8:30 PM. I heard on twitter that they are selling tickets, but have not heard where to buy them and how much they might cost.
Just for fun, I wanted to find out how bias our own town is towards the home town boys. So, here’s a quick Poll and you must vote before 9:45 PM
Who Will Win Top Chef Tonight?
33 Responses
leave one →
Well, I just got the mail and there’s no invitation.
Good luck to Bryan tonight!
GO TEAM BRYAN!!!!!!!
They are sold out on tickets for tonight I’m afraid. I will be tweeting from the party after 8:30 though (I am not a VIP either, I just work on the floor above them
)
While I am perfectly happy for Bryan V that he is in the finale, I find the whole “celebrity factor of this off putting. From the private reception, to the tickets, to the guest list, etc.
I understand Volt(restaurant and friends are excited) but I can’t help but find it all a little gauche. The combination of cooking, competition, television and celebrity leaves me cold. But good luck nonetheless.
I think the tickets were required simply because it’s a small restaurant and hundreds of people would show up and it would be rather chaotic. Personally I think it’d be irresponsible to -not- have it as a ticket-only evening because of all the problems that would cause. If anything I have not seen Volt flaunting the fame for the restaurant at all.
Hey Crystal, it’s Peter from upstairs. How’s it going? Not much here. Welp, see ya later.
Hi Peter, I parked next to you today. Hope all is well in the new house. Love, Crystal.
It’s going to be such a close call tonight, but I’m rooting for Brian just because he’s the local boy. One of these days, after I’ve saved up enough pennies, I’m gonna have to actually eat at Volt.
I want Bryan to win, he is a neighbor of mine, but I think that it is going to be between his brother and Kevin. BTW go to Volt for Lunch or sit at the bar. It is much more affordable.
we were happy to hear about this from a mutual friend (Jonathan) – and are delighted to see Volt and Bryan in this contest – we were pleased to have had a luncheon board meeting of our organization there earlier in the year and everyone was very delighted. Best wishes to you tonight. We look forward to dining at your wonderful restaurant again in the future (we live in Pennsylvania).
Ah well. If it couldn’t be Bryan I’m glad it was his brother – - still a “hometown” boy when you get down to it!
Glad a guy from Frederick won!
Much sadness in the household that Bryan didn’t win. However as one of them said last night on any given day anyone could beat the other two. Definitely the highest caliber of final three contestants on any season of Top Chef.
Fred
I don’t understand how having tickets to a small venue for an event is being too celebrity.
I’m a little bummed by the outcome of it, but I think it’s really great that the two bros were in the top two together. I’ve never watched the show before and I really enjoyed the season.
It is neat if you look on the Yelp reviews of Volt and see all the places people are from that are eating there because of the show. They’re traveling from all over just to come to Frederick. Now, if that’s being “celebrity,” I will welcome it, because those reviewers also tend to review nearby stores downtown, which means they’re spending the evening falling in love with Downtown Frederick.
Well said Steph
I think all three chefs were fantastic, but logistically I think Bryan should have won. He was the only chef that was never at the bottom of elimination challenges. Still, I am very proud that Michael won, and that those three chefs were the final 3. They are all equally amazing in their ability, and while I’ve had Bryan’s food many times, I’m very anxious to try Kevin and Michael’s.
I agree that people coming to Frederick is good –but coming because of a TV show? that in Micheal Pollan’s words “…on Bravo, “Top Chef,” cooking in prime time is a form of athletic competition, drawing its visual and even aural vocabulary from ‘Monday Night Football,’” does not make the chef appealing to me. Where is the pleasure? The breaking of bread with friends? I don’t know Bryan, so I am not talking about what his friends or followers experience with him. I am talking about celebrity coming from a TV show that for me only higlights ugly family bickerings, gossip etc, and where the food is really just a backdrop to ad sales and ratings–could bravo hype the rivalry anymore? My point is that for me, and it’s ok if I am in the minority here, going on the show in the first place is the turn off, the ticketed viewing –whether it’s for space reasons or not– still appears exclusive–and common. While I have eaten at Volt, it’s not my favorite place in Frederick. That would be at dinner parties with friends and family where we’ve come together with pleasure to cook, not to compete.
Kate, Regardless of why they are coming, they are showing up in Frederick and spending time downtown. I don’t care if it’s because of a tv show or not, that is absolutely amazing for the small businesses in downtown Frederick. I’d rather people come for silly reasons and fall in love and come back again and again, than wait for one of them to be invited to a dinner party of a friend who happens to live in Frederick.
It seems a little silly to worry about why people are coming to Frederick — unless of course you don’t want them here spending time and money in downtown. If that’s the case, then it all makes sense.
Ultimately my point is you can agree with the show or you can hate it and think it a farce, but if you have any inkling of a desire to see Downtown thrive and survive for years to come, then the popularity of it due to a show should not be a huge problem.
I don’t think I get at all where your animosity towards Bryan’s choice to be on the show comes from. Of course you are entitled to your opinion, but to paint Volt in a negative light for taking the opportunity to bring more business into the restaurant and for limiting the crowd to a manageable size during the finale…I just can’t agree with. I do not feel Bryan’s values were compromised, nor the integrity of his restaurant, food, or the experience of dining at Volt.
If your issue is just with how Bravo portrayed the show in general, then yes, I would agree that they skew things for ratings, but that is all shows.
But business is business, and if doing something like competing on a reality tv show is something you have the ability and desire to do in order to bring business, then I can’t see anything wrong with that. He has a family to support and bills to pay afterall. Bless him for doing what he has to and wants to in order to accomplish that.
After hearing the buzz, I was curious and tuned in to a repeat of the Top Chef finals last night. My first reaction was surprise at the youthfulness of both Voltaggio brothers. I have to marvel at how Bryan has been able to open Volt and make a name for himself at such a young age. Obviously, we have real talent here–in both brothers–and a lot of work is surely behind the success. A good dose of flair and charisma doesn’t hurt, either.
I can’t say that I’m a fan of “reality shows;” their contrived scenarios, sports-style competitive hype, and frenetic filming techniques don’t happen to be my cup of tea. My views of such shows notwithstanding, doing Top Chef was clearly a smart business and career move for all of the participants. Moreover, Frederick getting a little time in the spotlight will bring positive results for not only Volt but also local business and the community in general. So, I say, hat’s off to both Voltaggio brothers! I don’t think the fact that Bryan finished second takes much shine off the recognition factor and boost in success he’ll realize from his TV adventure.
Attended the party last night and the vibe in the air was all about Bryan. It was fun being there to watch and cheer for Bryan. There was even an appearance from Michael Isabella. Congratulations to Bryan for making it to the finale.
We very much enjoyed the only reality show we ever have watched and thank Jonathan again for tipping us off about Bryan competing as a finalist together with his brother. Some of the comments we have read here that sounded critical we think, are very much off base. It is an honor that was given to the brothers, and to Frederick.
While we enjoyed the experience of dining at Volk’s, what brought tears to my wife’s eyes was seeing the love of the brothers and the pride they take in the very good work they do. I have always enjoyed seeing excellence and professionalism and Bryan personifies that. How someone handles defeat and adversity tells you far more about that person than how they handle accolades and praise.
Bryan had both, we enjoyed the experience, and we look forward to visiting Frederick, MD again and visiting VOLK’s. Thanks Bryan and congratulations to both you and your brother.
In fact Emy is determined to do a write up about the neat town of Frederick and of course special mention to Bryan and Volk’s, at her blog about American Exceptionalism by an “American by choice not accident of birth,” – http://EmytheImmigrant.com.
Just make sure she knows the name of the restaurant is VOLT, not Volk’s.
lizfrog thanks, Emy already caught the typo when looking over their webpage and it was correct in the blogpost, you all might enjoy reading that: http://emytheimmigrant.blogspot.com/2009/12/volk-in-frederick-maryland-red-state.html
I watched the show last night, as I’ve been watching all season. I was sorry that Bryan didn’t win, however, I had the feeling that Michael would win. Both are (as well as Kevin) skilled chefs and I hope to dine at Volt someday. I tried to book Table 21 for my 21st anniversary (in October) but all evenings were booked. In fact, I was told Table 21 was booked through January. Maybe I should call this weekend and get something booked for next October!
I think you get from shows such as Top Chef what you choose to get from them. Personally, I have learned a few things about food from watching the show– for instance, I had never before heard about letting meat rest before carving it. No wonder the slices from my mother’s roasts were always so bloody. And I watch these shows knowing full well that what I’m seeing is edited and somewhat staged, not actual “reality”. If all you’re seeing is the bickering, perhaps that’s just all you’re paying attention to.
From a marketing perspective, I think it makes total sense for a chef to try to make it on a show like Top Chef. The way that Volt’s reservations have shot up is a perfect example of how it can benefit the chef-testants. For a new chef trying to make it in such a chaotic business, having your name all over the place for the length of a tv season is incredible marketing.
The one’s I don’t understand are all the regular folks going on shows like Big Brother.
I can’t see any reason why a thriving Volt, or any other business for that matter, is not in downtown Frederick’s best interests. What is it that compels some people to react negatively to achievement?
Also I was told today that if you want a reservation for Table 21 you are looking at December 2010 now!
Cheers,
Fred
http://www.fredfoodie.com
Well there goes our 35th anniversary dinner in June!
Maybe I should get in reservations for our 50th! I was also hoping to do that to celebrate a good friend’s safe return from Iraq in May. Oh well, just a regular table will have to do…..if we can even get that.
Theres a nice video on FNP today with Bryan talking about his experience of being on Top Chef. Great to see that he has NO plans of leaving the area anytime soon.
I just got of the phone making dinner reservations at Table 21 for my anniversary. I was hoping for October, which I missed this past year, but they are booked through October. I was able to get mid-November at 7:00pm.
Monica
After multiple phone calls, I was finally able to book the next available Saturday night seating at Table 21…for February 2011! Yeesh!
Whoa……
http://www.slashfood.com/2009/12/29/voltaggio-brothers-go-viral/?icid=main|main|dl7|link6|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.slashfood.com%2F2009%2F12%2F29%2Fvoltaggio-brothers-go-viral%2F
Sorry for the long website. I didn’t know how to just email the link so that you could post it in a more user-friendly fashion.
gypsy, you can use any of a number of URL shorteners to make links more manageable. Here’s your link using is.gd: http://is.gd/5GyZO
Cool story. We’ll have to follow the Voltaggiobrothers.com or http://is.gd/5Gzb4 doesn’t look like they’re posting anything until after the New Year.