Nat Wittstruck
Senior Creative Director
October 2012 /// TriBeCa /// NYC
Foodies love eating even more than they love Top Chef. Its only natural to combine the brand with the gastronomical experience. Opening a fully-functional restaurant in just 10 weeks is a more daunting task.
We found a restaurant that we could gut; a staff we could train; architects to actualize design; contractors to fast track permits, and builders to pull the concept into reality. Using the Top Chef brand guidelines as the diving platform, we orchestrated an open kitchen space with lofty ceilings, custom furniture, and glossy orange accents throughout the restaurant.
For 6 weeks, we ran the Top Chef Kitchen in TriBeCa, featuring a rotating menu prepared by TC's 'Bravolebrity' chefs, who popped out of the kitchen each night to schmooze with guests. Tickets, sold through opentable.com, sold out in just 45 minutes, leaving us wondering if we priced it too low, or just successfully, maybe primarily, tapped into the Top Chef fan base.