The Truth About Gabriel Pascuzzi From Top Chef Season 18
The new season from Top Chef promises to take its fans on a fun-filled ride this year even as the world continues to grapple with the pandemic. According to Deadline, this edition was shot last year in Portland, Oregon, and has been adapted to align with the uncertain times we're living in. For example, the participants will have access to grocery deliveries on the show instead of buying the ingredients themselves. Also, arrangements were made for the judges to be able to practice safety measures like social distancing as they went about their tasks on the show, and the guest judges only included former participants from Top Chef.
One of the participants on the show in this season is chef Gabriel Pascuzzi, a talented man from Portland itself (via Food & Wine). He's quite the entrepreneur and currently the chef/owner of three eateries: Mama Bird, Stacked Sandwich Shop, and Feel Good. His background is eclectic and reflects a collection of diverse life experiences.
He is a powerful contestant
As reported by Food & Wine, Pascuzzi grew up in a house that was full of Italian-American traditions, which meant that the budding chef got the best of both worlds. He was already interested in the world of food as a kid and found himself spending a lot of time at his uncle's eatery in Big Fork, Montana, where he happily completed chores to earn a piece of pie and pick up some useful skills. Eventually, he studied the culinary arts at Johnson & Wales University before throwing himself into the culinary industry and gaining as much practical experience as he could.
He also upgraded his skills by working for the much-loved restaurant Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark. Once he got back to the U.S., he worked for several eateries before finally launching his own establishment, the Stacked Sandwich Shop, in 2017. The restaurant earned good reviews for being promising and Thrillist awarded the eatery a spot in a list of the best sandwich spots in the country. Impressive!
The new season begins streaming April 1 on Bravo.