Top Chef Winners: Where Are They Now? Harold Dieterle

 

Top Chef is back tomorrow! It feels like Christmas!

Admittedly, that’s probably at least in part because it is Christmas. But, at The Braiser we like to call Top Chef season “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” For the past 12 seasons we’ve watched Bravo take previously unknown”cheftestants” and turn them into bonafide superstars. We’d like to take a look back at some of the most noteworthy of these contestants and see where they are now.

Harold Dieterle won season 1, which, if you can believe it filmed in 2006 in San Francisco. After winning the season, he came back to New York, where he’s originally from and opened the first of three restaurant, Perilla, in 2007. In 2010, he opened Kin Shop, and in 2012 he opened the Marrow, all to great reviews and packed houses.

Unfortunately, though, the restaurant business is notoriously difficult and The Marrow closed just two years after it opened. A few weeks ago, Dieterle announced that he would be closing Kin Shop and Perilla by year end as well. (Kin Shop closed last week, Perilla will be closing on Saturday, so if you want his famous duck meatballs or duck burger, now’s your chance.) We went to Kin Shop last weekend a few days before it closed. It was full of regulars, and while everyone was a little sad, the food was still as awesome as ever.

It’s also important to note that these restaurants were successes, not failures. He had a great run, it’s just time to move on.

Saying he was “feeling a little beat up and a little tired,” Dieterle will take some time off. He’s also expecting his first child this Winter.

We hope his break isn’t too long though. We’re excited to see what’s next from the original “Top Chef.”

Check back here for episode recaps of season 13 and more “Where Are They Now” features!

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