Tiffani Faison on Top Chef All-stars
Tiffani Faison (born August 20, 1977 in Germany) is an American chef and was one of two finalists on the first season of Bravo's reality show, Top Chef, finishing second place to Harold Dieterle.
Faison was born in Germany to American parents and raised as a self-described "army brat" in various parts of the United States, including Boston, Massachusetts, and Northern California. She worked briefly as a bartender at Lucky's Lounge in 2001 and had a brief and incredibly unsuccessful stint at the Ritz Carlton Boston Common as the Backlot's Food and Beverage Director later the same year. She attended Cambridge Culinary Institute (2002, 2003. She worked as a busser at Todd English's Bonfire in Boston in 2001. She worked at Perdix on Tremont Street in the South End of Boston in 2003. Perdix was rated as the gems of Boston for the culinary scene earlier that year. Just prior to appearing on Top Chef, Faison was employed as chef de partie under Daniel Boulud at his signature, Michelin Star restaurant in the Wynn Las Vegas and also worked at the Tao restaurant at The Venetian in the same city.
After the airing of the finale of Top Chef in May 2006, Faison took a summer position cooking at the Straight Wharf restaurant in Nantucket, Massachusetts, working under chefs Amanda Lydon and Gabriel Frasca. In 2007, she was executive chef at Todd English's brasserie, Riche, in New Orleans, Louisiana. In May 2007, Faison cohosted a Greek Isles culinary cruise for Olivia, a lesbian lifestyle and travel services company.
Faison took part in a single episode cooking competition called Top Chef: 4-Star All Stars, which pitted four Top Chef season one contestants (Faison, Stephen Asprinio, Harold Dieterle and David Martin) against four season two contestants (Elia Aboumrad, Ilan Hall, Sam Talbot and Marcel Vigneron). Faison's team scored the winning menu and received a $20,000 donation to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure charity. This episode aired on Bravo on June 6, 2007.
Faison also took part in the Top Chef Holiday Special that aired on December 7 2007, winning the $20,000 prize.
Faison returned to Boston, and was Executive Chef at Rocca Kitchen & Bar (500 Harrison Avenue), a once popular neighborhood space on Friday nights, until it closed in December, 2010.
Faison returned as a contestant on season 8 of Top Chef , and was eliminated in the sixth episode.