Who is Joe Flamm? 'Top Chef Amateurs' judge's restaurant is inspired by his grandmothers
Bravo's latest cooking show, 'Top Chef Amateurs', sees 24 amateur chefs taking on some classic 'Top Chef' inspired challenges, with a bit of help from the show's alumni, who will be cooking alongside them, providing them with the support they need.
If you're looking for other culinary shows to check out, you might want to consider 'MasterChef Legends', 'The Chef Show', 'Chopped Junior' and 'BBQ Brawl'.
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Who is Chef Joe Flamm?
The winner of Season 15 of 'Top Chef', Joe Flamm, worked at renowned restaurants such Michelin-starred Spiaggia and Cafe Spiaggia, where he was the executive chef. In addition, he studied at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Chicago and worked at Table 52, Girl and the Goat, and Belly Q.
Owner of Rose Mary
As with most 'Top Chef' alumni who have made their mark, Flamm owns his own restaurant, Rose Mary, named after his grandmothers, Mary Rose and Mary. The food served here is a mix of Italian and Croatian cuisine, which he calls "Adriatic drinking food", as mentioned in an article by Robb Report.
"We started on this project over two and a half years ago," Flamm said recently. "I felt like I was ready to do something on my own and then [Covid-19 happened]. There were some dark moments [over the past few years] when I was like, is this still going to be a thing? Does anyone still care? That was a huge, huge worry for me." he explained, seeing that the pandemic pushed back his plans.
"But I have a lot of really good people around me who told me to just be patient and you'll get it done at the right time. That's way more important than just getting it done right away" he added.
Flamm has let his culinary genius shine through his food. "Croatia has a really cool, kind of vibrant culinary scene," Flamm explained. "You see a ton of Italian influence, but there are so many influences from other countries like Hungary and Austria and Turkey as well. I read everything I could get my hands on [about their food]. There's not a ton of Croatian cookbooks out there, but I think I own all of them now." he added.
He also explained that the name of his restaurant was an ode to his grandmothers. "Rosemary, the herb, literally means “dew of the sea,” and it grows all along the coast of Italy and Croatia. Also: My Irish grandmother’s name was Rose, and my Italian grandmother’s name is Mary. It felt very fitting to honor these two important women in my life in this way." He said, while talking to La Cucina Italian.
On 'Top Chef Amateurs', Chef Joe Flamm makes a comeback as part of the 'Top Chef' alum to help the amateur cooks as they race against the clock while tackling challenges. He will also be a part of the judge's panel this season, alongside Eric Adjepong, Richard Blais, Shirley Chung, Stephanie Cmar, Jennifer Caroll, Tiffany Derry, Gregory Gourdet, Melissa King, Kwame Onwuachi, Dale Talde and Isaac Toups.
Catch Bravo's 'Top Chef Amatuers' on July 1, 2021, at 9/8c.
