Haute Dining: 10 Questions For Top Chef Alum Dale Talde of Talde

If you watched Season 4 of reality show Top Chef then you’re certainly familiar with Dale Talde. But even if you haven’t seen the show, Talde is someone to watch. This talented chef from Chicago moved to New York in 2005 to work alongside acclaimed Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto—and subsequently at Buddakan and Jean Georges Vongerichten’s Vong. Now Talde is making his own mark at his namesake casual Asian-American restaurant, Talde, which recently opened in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Here, Chef Talde shares his favorite food and dishes with us:

Haute Living: What’s new at Talde?
Dale Talde: We’re serving a shaken beef salad, with a barrel aged fish sauce and an aged balsamic. I love the combination of the fish sauce and balsamic in this dish.

HL: What are some of your favorite dishes at Talde?
DT: My favorite dish is probably the whole fish or possibly the Kare Kare short rib, which reminds me of my Mom’s cooking.

HL: Where do you like to dine when you’re not working?
DT: I’m a total junk food fan—I love a good cheese burger or pizza, but I also love to try new restaurants and just ate at Tertulia, which was really good.

HL: What’s your ideal meal?
DT: It starts with good company, my girlfriend or family, then a couple of cocktails and a simple bowl of pasta.

HL: Where do you like to dine on a special occasion?
DT: Jean-Georges is hands down my favorite meal in New York City.

HL: What’s your favorite NYC neighborhood?
DT: Brooklyn, all day, but when I’m not in Brooklyn, then Lower East Side.

HL: What do you like to do in the city on your days off?
DT: Shop for fly kicks.

HL: What’s your favorite vacation destination?
DT: San Sebastian, Spain.

HL: What’s your most memorable meal?
DT: Mugaritz in Spain was hands down the most memorable meal. It was just perfect, I had always wanted to eat there and lived up to everything.

HL: What are your five favorite ingredients?
DT: Shrimp paste, fish sauce, dried shrimp, palm sugar, lemongrass.

TALDE is located at 369 Seventh Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn; 718-916-0031.

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Visit food + travel writer + Haute Dining columnist Tracey Ceurvels’ blog, The Busy Hedonist for food + travel inspiration.