Local chef Teddy Folkman shared the love on Sunday night, holding four simultaneous viewing parties for the debut of “The Next Food Network Star,” on which he is a contestant.
Folkman’s peeps partied at Capitol Lounge, where he just took over as executive chef, the Argonaut in Northeast, Enology in Northwest and his own favorite watering hole, the Reynolds Street Bar & Grill in Alexandria.
“The experience was amazing,” Folkman told us last week. “A lot of kids dream of Disney World; I dream of going to the Food Network studios.” His favorite moment? Meeting “Iron Chef” star Morimoto. “Any guy who wears pajamas 24/7 has got to be a fun individual,” said Folkman.
On the one hand, he said, it was more difficult than his day-to-day life as a chef, because in addition to culinary chops, you also need “on camera presence and an ability to explain” what you’re doing to an audience. But on the other hand, he said it felt luxurious, because he’s used to working in 120-square-foot kitchens.
Which he may be seeing more of. In addition to his work at Capitol Lounge and Granville Moore’s, Folkman and his partners have three more projects in the works over the next two years. And if he does well on the reality show? “If I get a show, I can do that, too.”
