Latest news with #Shuai
Vogue
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Vogue
A Sad Goodbye to New Top, the Downtown Jewelry Shop That Fashion Insiders Loved
The New Top Instagram page, once boasting thousands of followers, including many influential creatives, is now deactivated—gone without a trace. The reason for its closure is still unknown, but in statement released exclusively to Vogue, Shuai wanted to give special thanks her devoted shoppers over the years. 'I am very grateful for your support and friendship every day I work,' she wrote via a third party. 'I will always remember your sunny smiles!' While the news of New Top closing is still spreading, many fashion fans are already mourning the loss. And understandably so: There are few shops like it left in the city. For one, you did not need a fortune to shop its assortment of gold goods; the shop was popular for its competitive price points. (Nearby, Popular Jewelry on Canal Street is another celebrity favorite, though decidedly pricier.) New Top was also one of the larger and more sceney jewelry shops in the city: You went there not only to shop, but to see who was shopping. When Vogue reached out to fashion insiders to share their favorite memories of the store, we were delighted to hear so many great encounters and memorable encounters that took place amid its treasure trove of gold jewelry over the years. Read on for special homages to New Top. This is truly the end of an era. Liana Satenstein, writer and creator of NeverWorns 'I loved it because you could get something as small as a pinky ring, or something as big as a gold chain with a massive charm. It eventually became the place where, when someone left Vogue, they'd get a piece of jewelry engraved [as their going-away gift].' Kim Shui, designer 'We had Jane walk in one of my first shows. Almost all of my gold jewelry is from there. New Top was great because she knew what you were looking for and she always made suggestions that worked. If you asked for custom lettering, she was able to translate what you wanted.' Sally Singer, president, Art + Commerce I loved New Top, and especially Jane, who liked to brag about her studious and artistically talented daughter while pulling fifty or more charms from the display for me to hem and haw over. New Top was my go-to place for talismanic, personalized baubles—my idea of 14-karat heaven. The selection was vast, the prices fair, and the scene incredible. One of the last true bastions of downtown cool.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
A teary Top Chef finds our final four in Milan
[Editor's note: The A.V. Club will be back to recap next week's season finale.] Top Chef has always had a big ol' heart beating beneath those panic-inducing Quickfires and high-stakes Elimination Challenges. But Bravo's culinary reality competition has seemingly cranked up the burners on its own emotionality in recent seasons, maybe a byproduct of the addition of Kristen Kish (a show host who acutely knows the passion, pressure, and privilege of being a Top Chef champion), or the producers simply savvily clocking that we're all desperate for compassion and community in this garbage-fire of a society. Hell, maybe it's just the Canada of it all. But in a season that's served not only great cooking and kitchen drama but also bone-deep loss, heartfelt support, and true camaraderie between the competitors, Top Chef has become less about stewing rivalries and more comfort-food viewing—i.e. just the kind of dish we need these days. As competitor Tristan Epps noted in this week's episode: 'We looked at past seasons, and everyone is always at each other's throat—we're nothing but hugs and tears.' And there were bittersweet tears and cozy feelings aplenty in the penultimate episode of Top Chef season 22, which saw our four semi-finalists—Epps, Bailey Sullivan, César Murillo, and Shuai Wang—departing the warm, welcoming arms of Canada for the grand-finale backdrop of Milan, Italy. The giddiness of the scenery change was infectious: It was Shuai's first time going to Italy ('I'd move to Europe just for the butter') and César's first time hitting the European continent full-stop. That excitement continued, for us viewers at least, when Kish announced that the final QuickFire challenge of the season would focus on that famously finicky Italian specialty: risotto. We're in Milan, where rice is king, so the inclusion of the notoriously difficult dish was fair, but that doesn't mean our cheftestants were happy to see it. ('Not risotto! I thought I could manifest it out of this competition,' Tristen lamented.) They got a little leg up with a staggered cooking schedule, so no one chef's dish turned gloopy while it waited to meet Tom Colicchio's taste buds. And the largest QuickFire prize yet ($15,000) certainly didn't hurt. With thirty-five minutes on the clock, the competitors turned out two traditional-ish bowls of rice (Tristen's West African-inspired risotto with dressed heirloom tomatoes and charred butter greens, and Bailey's red wine-stained version with Parmigiano, pear and hazelnut gremolata) and two, uh, not. Both César and Shuai ran the risk of poking the bear (a.k.a. Tom) by subbing out rice grains entirely in favor of root vegetables: The former served celery-root risotto with chicken jus and white truffle, and the latter, squash risotto with chanterelles and saffron. 'The word riso means rice!' Colicchio griped during judging, and it goes without saying that neither non-rice bowl won. Instead, it was Tristen's jollof-inspired interpretation that added $15,000 to his season's winnings. ('I made Black people risotto and won!') And now for the biggie: the Elimination Challenge that would secure their spot in the final three. For the occasion, producers tapped into the buzz around the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics by having four medal-winning American athletes—bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor, snowboarder Red Gerard, ice-sled hockey player Declan Farmer, and multi-sport Paralympic star Oksana Masters—pair up with the chefs to help them grocery shop. No, it didn't totally make sense, but I did appreciate the sporty supermarket hijinks, from Masters good-naturedly trying to sabotage César's rivals by asking them about their pets to Shuai and Declan struggling to find puffed pastry with their Duolingo-level Italian. The chefs would be using those wares in a three-part head-to-head tournament, each round focused on a different ingredient from Milan or Cortina: the first on polenta, the second on beetroot, and the third on Gorgonzola cheese. After two hours of prep and an additional 30 minutes of cook time in an outdoor courtyard, the Fab Four would serve their penultimate plates to a panel including the Team USA athletes, Top Chef Middle East winner Ali Ghzawi, and two-star Michelin chef Andrea Aprea. If you win the polenta round, good news: You're automatically in the final three. A second finalist will then be added after the beetroot smackdown, with the two last players desperately battling it out over stinky Gorgonzola. Bailey, out for redemption, planned to double down on polenta for both rounds one and three, the latter of which would also include a redo of that bad brûléed Gorgonzola idea from week 11. The ever-creative César coolly decided to do dessert first, with a polenta cake with black-walnut ice cream, though he was stressed that he didn't have enough prep time to turn out the fresh tortillas for his beet tostada second course. Shuai nodded to Chinatown with a barbecue duck-inspired polenta dish and beet dumplings filled with smoked fish. Meanwhile, Tristen toured Caribbean tradition with his cou-cou porridge with spicy Haitian sos and glazed beets with pork belly and beet pikliz, though he felt his Gorgonzola sherbet was far from good enough. ('I'm fucked if I get to the Gorgonzola.') Shuai's nostalgic polenta number won over the paddles of Kristen, Tom, and Gail Simmons, as well as the other judging panelists, immediately entering him into the season's final three. And thankfully for Tristen, he didn't have to get to the Gorgonzola after all, with his smoked beets plate taking it in round two. That left César and Bailey in a head-to-head Gorgonzola duel, an interesting match-up given that I always believed César would make it to the finals and was pleasantly surprised how far Bailey has come. And, seemingly more surprises were in store: Bailey's brûléed Gorgonzola redemption panned out, with her polenta gratinata successfully clinching the third-round win over César's cheese-laced butternut squash casserole. Unsurprisingly, however, was the level of emotion from all involved at seeing César go. 'I was just one away from the final cook. I just wanted that one more,' he sadly declared before making his exit. That weepiness segued into happy tears, though, with the realization that we officially have our final three for Top Chef season 22, with Shuai especially going into the finals strong with the challenge win and an added $15,000 Delta gift card in his pocket. 'It's a wild ride and a very exciting feeling to be standing where you are,' Kristen told him through tears, to which Shuai excellently responded: 'Stop crying, Kristen!' • So what do you think of our top three? Shuai and Tristen have been pretty dominant all season, while Bailey seemed to get a dark-horse edit by producers going into the finale. Does the quirky chef stand a chance? • Did anyone else get a little teary when a ladybug—thought to be a symbol of protection and positive energy from a deceased loved one—landed on Tristen's station during the Elimination cook, or should I set up a call with my therapist? • Given that Milan is one of the premier fashion capitals of the world, our trusty judges trio really stepped up their sartorial game this ep. That leather midi skirt on Gail? That striped overcoat on Kristen? Fantastica! More from A.V. Club 3 new songs and 3 new albums to check out this weekend A teary Top Chef finds our final four in Milan First look at Andy Serkis' animated Animal Farm goes light on Orwellian satire, heavy on Seth Rogen
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Top Chef': Big loss for Canadians just before the competition moves to Italy for the final
Lana's elimination in last week's episode of Top Chef Season 22 was certainly felt by the remaining chefs. But the competition must go on and this week, the chefs received mystery bags with foraging gear. It was exciting for some, an intimidating unknown challenge for others. As the chefs headed to Quarry Lake in Alberta, they met up with host Kristen Kish, who announced that there wouldn't be a Quickfire Challenge. Additionally, this is the last Elimination Challenge in Canada. Brenda Holder, Cree knowledge keeper of traditional medicine owner, Mahikan Trails, was on site to tell the chefs about her family's lineage of people who survived on the land. And Tracy Little, chef and owner of Sauvage restaurant, and master forager, also greeted the competitors. Each chef had to create a dish using foraged ingredients, with Brenda and Tracy there to assist. They also had $200 to shop for remaining ingredients and there was an additional pantry of foraged ingredients. For Massimo, who won last week's challenge, he had an additional 30 minutes to cook. There was also $10,000 up for grabs for the winner. Joining the judges table this week, Nicole Gomes, chef and co-founder of Cluck n Cleaver, Paul Rogalski, chef and co-owner of Rouge restaurant and co-host of Wild Harvest, Scott Iserhoff, chef and founder of Pei Pei Chei Ow, and Indigenous herbalist Matricia Bauer. The dishes each chef made, and the feedback from the judges, was as follows: Tristen — "OG Jerk" pork, plantain miso glaze, Quarry Lake callaloo and coal roasted roots — Brenda liked that she could really taste the land in the dish, Gail Simmons loved the sweetness in the sauce and the balance with the pork and greens César — Mushroom trompo, mushroom pibil broth and toasted ants — Scott loved the soup, Kristen said the dish was "completely dialled in" Bailey — Lamb spiedino with grilled dandelion salad, "cowtown" cowpeas and thistle root purée — Brenda loved the lamb, Nicole said the peas were a little too crunchy Shuai — Roasted cabbage with rose hip-glazed pork belly, sour cabbage broth, lovage and thatching ant togarashi — Scott highlighted how much flavour was in the dish, Brenda loved how nicely the flavours played together, Gail said it was "excellent" and Tom Colicchio was "absolutely loving it" Massimo — Grilled trout with mustard sauce, smoked potato purée and bannock with wildflowers — Gail said the bannock felt very "intense," Nicole said it was a very "elegant" dish Shuai won the Elimination Challenge, securing his spot in the final in Milan and receiving $10,000. But Massimo, the one Canadian chef in the competition, didn't get the chance to leave the country, eliminated from the competition. And so the "Destination Canada" season of the show continues, without a Canadian chef.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Top Chef' will move from Canada to Italy for the Season 22 finale, Kristen Kish announces in Calgary
Top Chef Season 22 moved to a different Canadian city this week, with the competitors making the journey from Toronto to the Alberta city of Calgary. As the chefs stood together at the city's Olympic Plaza, Kristen Kish announced the upcoming finale will take place in Milan, Italy. Maybe an odd choice for a season technically called Top Chef: Destination Canada, but the chefs were excited. A guest judge this week was Connie Desousa, chef at Charcut in Calgary. The Top Chef Canada finalist stood with the judges, including Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons, to announce the Quickfire Challenge, inspired by the Calgary Stampede. The chefs were given 45 minutes to create their own handheld pancake breakfast to feed 50 diners. There was $10,000 up for grabs for the Quickfire Challenge winner, which was Shuai, who made a cornmeal pancake with scrambled eggs, lap cheong, cheddar and chili crisp avocado aioli. Moving into the Elimination Challenge, chef Denia Baltzer, chef and owner of Creative Cuisine Catering, and member of the Łııdlı̨ı̨ Kųę First Nation, greeted the competitors and provided more details about the Stampede, specifically its history of being an event where ranchers and First Nations people come together. Kristen explained that the Elimination Challenge would be centred around two ingredients, one from each of these communities, beef and berries. The chefs got to decide amongst themselves which cut of beef they would use, and drew knives for the type of berry. With Shuai being the winner of the Quickfire Challenge, he was given three hours to cook, while the rest of the chefs had two hours. Much like we've seen throughout the season, there weren't any particularly cooking disasters during this eliminations, before the chefs brought their dishes to the judges table, which included Paul Roglaski, chef and co-owner of Rogue restaurant and co-host of Wild Harvest. The dishes made by each chef and the judges feedback went as follows: Lana — Grilled New York strip steak with pommes anna, haskap berry condiment and smoked haskap berry jus — Connie loved the sauce and the savoury element of the condiment, but Denia wanted to see more berry, Kristen found the sage overpowering, Gail found the potato too dry, and Tom said the meat was over-rested, cooked too early Massimo — Tenderloin with umeboshi, pickled elderberry sauce, smoked kohlrabi and elderberry soup purée — Gail called the dish a "showstopper," Kristen said the beef was cooked beautifully Bailey — Saskatoon braised beef cheek, creamy polenta, brûléed blue cheese and roasted walnut — Gail said the brûléed blue cheese threw her off, with Tom questioning the decision as well, while Denia said the Saskatoon berry flavour got lost in the sauce Tristen — Alberta flat iron with kohlrabi, gooseberries and bone marrow pemmican — Tom said there was a ton of flavour, Kristen loved that the gooseberries reminded her of sour candies, but Gail identified that her steak wasn't cooked properly César — Grilled ribeye, chokeberry reduction, rutabaga cream and bone marrow cornbread — Gail said everything on her plate was cooked perfectly, but all the chefs criticized the lack of tartness from the berries Shuai — Mama Wang's stuffed cabbage with braised short rib, wild rice congee and black currant black pepper sauce — Connie loved it and said it reminded her of a dish her mother makes, Tom said the beef is rich and the congee was also rich, but it was flavourful, and Gail loved the tartness from the black currents The winning chef was Canadian Massimo, who will get an advantage next week, while Lana was eliminated from the competition.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
North Charleston chef takes culinary talent to national stage by appearing on Bravo's ‘Top Chef'
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – A celebrated local chef is bringing his culinary talent to the national stage this month by appearing on season 22 of Bravo's 'Top Chef.' Chef Shuai Wang, owner of two Charleston area favorites, Jackrabbit Filly, and King BBQ, will compete against 14 other cooking pros from around the country while on location in Canada. The first episode of 'Top Chef: Destination Canada' will air March 13 at 9 p.m. Eastern on Bravo. This year's winner will be rewarded $250,000, an appearance at Aspen's Food & Wine Classic, and the opportunity to host an exclusive dinner at the James Beard House, among other things. Initially, Shuai was invited to apply for a role in the long-running competition, but he hesitated at first. 'I was unsure because I'm not a competitive person in nature, so I was like, 'Oh, do I want to do this,' Shuai explained. 'But then I thought about all the different opportunities 'Top Chef' would bring to me personally and our businesses and I thought this is such a great opportunity and cannot be missed.' Despite Shuai not being naturally competitive, he has become a decorated chef, being named an Eater Young Gun in 2016 and Best New Chef the same year. Short Grain, a food truck formerly run by Shuai and his wife Corrie, was designated by Bon Appetit as one of America's Top 50 Best New Restaurants in 2016. The following year, Shuai was nominated for a prestigious James Beard Award in the 'Rising Star Chef' category. Shuai's success led him to open Jackrabbit Filly, a place that blends heritage drive Chinese cuisine with American fare, and later King BBQ, self-described as 'Chinatown BBQ with Southern smoke.' The BBQ fusion spot was designated as one of the Top 10 Best New BBQ Restaurants of 2024 by Southern Living Magazine and one of the 2024 Top 20 Best New Restaurants by Bon Appetit. 'Top Chef' season 22 was filmed last year, with the team traveling to places like Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, Canmore, and Prince Edward Island. Before joining the show, Shuai said he had grown 'stale' as a chef, cooking the same food daily. But the idea of winning a hugely popular cooking competition was reinvigorating. 'I just felt like I was rejuvenated and just like my brain was turning again,' he explained. 'Afterwards, I felt so inspired coming back, and I wanted to cook new things.' As soon as Shuai arrived home, it was back to business. Jackrabbit Filly was opening at a new location with a new menu. With his mind spinning, Shuai added dishes to the new menu that he previously thought he couldn't pull off. 'Instead of the same old thing we'd been cooking for the past, I don't know, five years, we came up with all these new menu items that, you know, I didn't think I was able to do,' he said. Some Jackrabbit menu items include the krab rangoon cheese ball, soy garlic karaage-don with Japanese fried chicken, soft egg, and honey garlic soy sauce, and the Sichuan seafood wonton soup. Who wouldn't be inspired when learning from eight-time James Beard Award winner Tom Colicchio, season 10 'Top Chef' winner Kristen Kish, and culinary expert Gail Simmons? 'Kristen was probably who I was most intimidated by because you know she's been on Top Chef, she's went to the bottom, she fought her way, back all the way to the top,' Shuai said. The culinary industry has been known to be a cut-throat and challenging environment, as seen in popular television shows like 'The Bear' and 'Hell's Kitchen' which highlight how intense the food world can be. Having that spotlight on the industry has led to change throughout the years, though. 'Going into 'Top Chef,' I had that mindset of 'Oh, everyone's going to be butting heads, everyone's going to be competing,' but you know, I think because the industry has changed so much that it wasn't so much that,' Shuai explained. 'There's still a competition; we're still competing, and we're still going against each other, but I just feel like, as chefs now, we get along much better than we used to.' That often ruthless environment is part of the reason Shuai decided to make the move to Charleston. He grew up in Queens and spent a large chunk of his adult life cooking in Brooklyn. Once Shuai graduated high school, he went straight to culinary school and has been in the kitchen ever since. The number of restaurants throughout the city, not to mention the diversity of those spots and the intensity of the competition in New York, is part of the reason Shuai believes he made it to where he is in his career. He was challenged at an elite level. But that high pressure, day in and day out, led Shuai to something many of us experience: burnout. 'I was just very unhappy. It was too much work and my work and life balance, there was no balance,' Shuai explained. 'So I looked into moving away because I felt like if I kept working like the way I was working in New York, I was going to get super burned out and just leave the industry completely.' During that time, Shuai's friend was trying to open a restaurant in Charleston, and he reached out to Shuai for help with the opening. Shuai decided to make the jump and move, thinking he would be here only for a short time to help his friend. As with most things in life, the plan did not go accordingly. The friend's restaurant was delayed indefinitely, so Shuai and Corrie returned to square one and decided to invest in themselves. From there, the idea for Short Grain was born. The business exploded and turned into continued success with Jackrabbit and King BBQ. 'You know, now I'm in the South. I've been here for almost eleven years now, and I love love North Charleston,' Shuai said. It just feels like home.' A large part of the continued success is due to Corrie, who Shuai called the 'backbone' of their restaurants. When Shuai decided to take on the 'Top Chef' contestant role, he had to commit to a minimum of four to six weeks of filming in Canada. Of course, the farther you make it in the competition, the longer you stay and are away from home. 'I left for 'Top Chef' for a very long time for filming…throughout that time, she [Corrie] was here running both restaurants by herself while building out this new space [the new Jackrabbit location],' Shuai said. 'It takes two really hard-working people to run these things, and she's pretty amazing,' he continued. Not only do the Wangs love the area and its food scene, but they also support it. More than 25% of both restaurants' menus are sourced locally, including vegetables, seafood, grains, dairy, and proteins from local farms. 'It's very important for me to do that,' Shuai said. 'You know, living in a small community, it's important for me to support the small families that are farmers that are here.' 'Also, when I first moved down, the first time I had a local shrimp, I have never wanted to eat any other shrimp ever again,' he added. As a 2025 South Carolina chef ambassador, a large part of Shuai's ambassadorship involves promoting local food while representing the state at events like the recent Charleston Food and Wine Festival, where Shuai hosted Sunday hangover brunch at Jackrabbit. Another way Shuai supports the local food industry is by eating local! Some of his favorite restaurants in the area are Vern's, The Glass Onion and Bintu Atelier. You can support Shuai by watching him on Bravo's 'Top Chef' every Thursday or streaming it the next day on Peacock. 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