Harold Dieterle III (born June 11, 1977, in

West Babylon, New York West Babylon is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Babylon in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 43,213 at the 2010 census. Geography West Babylon is located at (40.713399, -73.357106). West Babylon is bord ...

) is an American

top chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo on March 8, 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional ch ...

, best known as the winner of the first season of the Bravo television network's

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

series ''

Top Chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo on March 8, 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional ch ...

''. After winning ''Top Chef'', he owned and ran three restaurants in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

: Perilla, Kin Shop, and The Marrow. He closed all three in 2014 and 2015. In 2019 Dieterle opened a new restaurant, "Ten Hope," in Williamsburg.Tuder, Stefanie (October 17, 2019).
First 'Top Chef' Winner Harold Dieterle Is Cooking Again at New Williamsburg Restaurant
, ''Eater''. Retrieved September 5, 2020. His signature dish is spicy duck meatballs.

Early life

Dieterle attended West Babylon High School and then studied at the

Culinary Institute of America Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs or ...

, graduating in 1997.

Career

Dieterle's professional career began at ''Della Femina'' in the Hamptons for two years. That was followed by three years at ''Red Bar'' and two years at ''1770 House'', both in

. For almost five years, he was a

sous-chef A sous-chef is a chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the ...

at ''The Harrison'' restaurant in New York. In October 2005, Dieterle competed in and won the first season of ''Top Chef''. Following his win on the series, he left ''The Harrison'' in early 2006 to plan the opening of his restaurant. His first restaurant, Perilla, opened in May 2007 in New York City. In 2010 he opened Kin Shop, a Thai restaurant. In a positive 2010 review of Kin Shop in the magazine '' New York'', food critic Adam Platt called Dieterle "the original (and easily most talented) winner" of ''Top Chef''. In 2012, he opened The Marrow in New York City, which featured a mashup of Italian and German cuisine that was an ode to Dieterle's German heritage, and his wife's Italian heritage. The Marrow closed in 2014 after less than two years. In late 2015, Dieterle closed his two remaining restaurants, Kin Shop and Perilla. Dieterle said he was taking a leave from the restaurant and hospitality business. In 2019 he helped open a new restaurant in Williamsburg. Dieterle worked as a consulting chef at the restaurant named Ten Hope and put together the menu. Perilla alum Jim Handwerker works as chef de cuisine. In 2016 Dieterle served as a consultant for the AMC TV series '' Feed the Beast'', set at a fictional restaurant.

Personal life

On September 4, 2010, Dieterle married Meredith Davies in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

. They met at the Food & Wine Classic in

Aspen, Colorado Aspen is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,004 at the 2020 United States Census. Aspen is in a remote area of the Rocky Moun ...

, in 2006, the summer after his winning season on ''Top Chef''.

References

Top Chef winners 1977 births Living people American chefs American male chefs Culinary Institute of America alumni People from West Babylon, New York {{food-bio-stub