South Philly Review

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When a former “Top Chef” contestant dropped out of a national competition often referred to as the Olympics of cooking due to lack of prep time, a Bella Vista chef/restaurant owner jumped right into the fire.

At The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., Jim Burke, of Eighth and Christian streets, claimed the vacant spot in the Bocuse d’Or USA Final Competition Weekend against 11 of the country’s culinary best.

In front of a live audience of about 800, 12 teams of two prepped two dishes, each with three sides, over five-and-a-half hours Feb. 6. Dishes were scored on a 20-point scale for presentation and a 40-point scale for taste by 17 judges that included Le Bec-Fin’s Georges Perrier. Though a complete list of results has not been released by the Bocuse d’Or Foundation, the winner was announced as James Kent of Eleven Madison Park in New York. He will represent the United States in next year’s Bocuse d’Or World Cuisine Contest in Lyon, France.

“We certainly feel like we’re a little bit of an underdog, but at the same time, we’re very confident in our skills and ability to work under pressure, so we’re shooting to win,” Burke said prior to leaving for New York last week.

Ironically, Burke, executive chef/owner of James, 824 S. Eighth St., almost didn’t enter the event. His application may have gotten lost in the shuffle of preparing for the birth of his and wife Kristina’s first child, Daniel, in July. Kristina is the eatery’s general manager.

Days before Thanksgiving, Burke received a call from the foundation, which hosts the biannual event, regarding the deadline. The foundation’s representative sought Burke out and told him to download the application from its Web site.

The chef figured he could quickly complete the process, but soon discovered he needed to get the paperwork notarized and submit a photo, biography and letters of recommendation in addition to finding a commis, or an assistant chef that had to be under age 22 at the time of the competition, to assist him.

“It’s another great honor to be approached about it,” Burke said of the culinary showdown. “I’ve known about the competition for many years. I’ve never had a huge interest in cooking competitions because it’s different from restaurant cooking, but this one is quite prestigious.”

Burke completed the required materials and, with the foundation’s help, secured Culinary Institute of America student and South Philly native Simon Solis-Cohen as his commis.

Weeks went by and he did not hear back, but a few days before Christmas Burke was invited to compete when “Top Chef: Las Vegas’” Kevin Gillespie dropped out.

The chef had less than a week to submit his recipes for the two mandated proteins — lamb and salmon — along with sides for each.

“First, I had to come up with some dishes and develop them,” he said. “Then I had to get the recipes’ exact ingredient amounts and after that we had to start practicing.”

Solis-Cohen traveled from New York to Philly on weekends and was in town for two-straight weeks leading up to the competition. However, Burke did not have the luxury of dropping everything prior to leaving for New York Feb. 4.

“All this time, we’re still running our restaurant and I’m still running on the line, so just adding more work to my already busy day,” he said of a schedule that included kitchen duties at his modern American eatery.

Burke, a Mount Airy native, has been working in restaurants since his teens. After moving to Jenkintown, he got a summer job with friends at a local restaurant when he was 17 and fell in love with the chaotic nature of the kitchen.

“It was very exiting to be around, so I kind of fell for the atmosphere at first,” he said.

While he continued to work in the kitchen, he attended Lancaster’s Franklin & Marshall College and majored in economics.

“I didn’t necessarily think I’d be an economist per se,” he said, “[but] that degree has certainly helped with owning a restaurant.”